Tropical peatland carbon storage linked to global latitudinal trends in peat recalcitrance

Suzanne B. Hodgkins (), Curtis J. Richardson, René Dommain, Hongjun Wang, Paul H. Glaser, Brittany Verbeke, B. Rose Winkler, Alexander R. Cobb, Virginia I. Rich, Malak Missilmani, Neal Flanagan, Mengchi Ho, Alison M. Hoyt, Charles F. Harvey, S. Rose Vining, Moira A. Hough, Tim R. Moore, Pierre J. H. Richard, Florentino B. Cruz, Joumana Toufaily, Rasha Hamdan, William T. Cooper and Jeffrey P. Chanton ()
Additional contact information
Suzanne B. Hodgkins: Florida State University
Curtis J. Richardson: Nicholas School of the Environment
René Dommain: University of Potsdam
Hongjun Wang: Nicholas School of the Environment
Paul H. Glaser: University of Minnesota
Brittany Verbeke: Florida State University
B. Rose Winkler: Florida State University
Alexander R. Cobb: Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology
Virginia I. Rich: The Ohio State University
Malak Missilmani: Lebanese University
Neal Flanagan: Nicholas School of the Environment
Mengchi Ho: Nicholas School of the Environment
Alison M. Hoyt: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Charles F. Harvey: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
S. Rose Vining: University of Arizona
Moira A. Hough: University of Arizona
Tim R. Moore: McGill University
Pierre J. H. Richard: Université de Montréal
Florentino B. Cruz: North Carolina State University
Joumana Toufaily: Lebanese University
Rasha Hamdan: Lebanese University
William T. Cooper: Florida State University
Jeffrey P. Chanton: Florida State University

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Peatlands represent large terrestrial carbon banks. Given that most peat accumulates in boreal regions, where low temperatures and water saturation preserve organic matter, the existence of peat in (sub)tropical regions remains enigmatic. Here we examined peat and plant chemistry across a latitudinal transect from the Arctic to the tropics. Near-surface low-latitude peat has lower carbohydrate and greater aromatic content than near-surface high-latitude peat, creating a reduced oxidation state and resulting recalcitrance. This recalcitrance allows peat to persist in the (sub)tropics despite warm temperatures. Because we observed similar declines in carbohydrate content with depth in high-latitude peat, our data explain recent field-scale deep peat warming experiments in which catotelm (deeper) peat remained stable despite temperature increases up to 9 °C. We suggest that high-latitude deep peat reservoirs may be stabilized in the face of climate change by their ultimately lower carbohydrate and higher aromatic composition, similar to tropical peats.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-06050-2

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