Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

Yannick Garcin (), Enno Schefuß (), Greta C. Dargie (), Donna Hawthorne, Ian T. Lawson, David Sebag, George E. Biddulph, Bart Crezee, Yannick E. Bocko, Suspense A. Ifo, Y. Emmanuel Mampouya Wenina, Mackline Mbemba, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Ovide Emba, Pierre Bola, Joseph Kanyama Tabu, Genevieve Tyrrell, Dylan M. Young, Ghislain Gassier, Nicholas T. Girkin, Christopher H. Vane, Thierry Adatte, Andy J. Baird, Arnoud Boom, Pauline Gulliver, Paul J. Morris, Susan E. Page, Sofie Sjögersten and Simon L. Lewis ()
Additional contact information
Yannick Garcin: Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CEREGE
Enno Schefuß: University of Bremen
Greta C. Dargie: University of Leeds
Donna Hawthorne: University of St Andrews
Ian T. Lawson: University of St Andrews
David Sebag: Earth Sciences and Environmental Technologies Division
George E. Biddulph: University of St Andrews
Bart Crezee: University of Leeds
Yannick E. Bocko: Université Marien Ngouabi
Suspense A. Ifo: Université Marien Ngouabi
Y. Emmanuel Mampouya Wenina: Université Marien Ngouabi
Mackline Mbemba: Université Marien Ngouabi
Corneille E. N. Ewango: Université de Kisangani
Ovide Emba: Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Mbandaka
Pierre Bola: Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Mbandaka
Joseph Kanyama Tabu: Université de Kisangani
Genevieve Tyrrell: University of Leicester
Dylan M. Young: University of Leeds
Ghislain Gassier: Aix Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CEREGE
Nicholas T. Girkin: Cranfield University
Christopher H. Vane: Centre for Environmental Geochemistry
Thierry Adatte: University of Lausanne
Andy J. Baird: University of Leeds
Arnoud Boom: University of Leicester
Pauline Gulliver: Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC)
Paul J. Morris: University of Leeds
Susan E. Page: University of Leicester
Sofie Sjögersten: University of Nottingham
Simon L. Lewis: University of Leeds

Nature, 2022, vol. 612, issue 7939, 277-282

Abstract: Abstract The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approximately 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat1,2. Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large interfluvial basin in the Republic of the Congo and palaeoenvironmental methods. We find that peat accumulation began at least at 17,500 calibrated years before present (cal. yr bp; taken as ad 1950). Our data show that the peat that accumulated between around 7,500 to around 2,000 cal. yr bp is much more decomposed compared with older and younger peat. Hydrogen isotopes of plant waxes indicate a drying trend, starting at approximately 5,000 cal. yr bp and culminating at approximately 2,000 cal. yr bp, coeval with a decline in dominant swamp forest taxa. The data imply that the drying climate probably resulted in a regional drop in the water table, which triggered peat decomposition, including the loss of peat carbon accumulated prior to the onset of the drier conditions. After approximately 2,000 cal. yr bp, our data show that the drying trend ceased, hydrologic conditions stabilized and peat accumulation resumed. This reversible accumulation–loss–accumulation pattern is consistent with other peat cores across the region, indicating that the carbon stocks of the central Congo peatlands may lie close to a climatically driven drought threshold. Further research should quantify the combination of peatland threshold behaviour and droughts driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions that may trigger this positive carbon cycle feedback in the Earth system.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

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