A review on nitrogen and organics removal mechanisms in subsurface flow constructed wetlands: dependency on environmental parameters, operating conditions and supporting media.

Microbial activity in Arctic tundra ecosystems continues through the winter and is an important component of the annual C budget. This activity is sensitive to climatic variation, particularly snow depth because that regulates soil temperature. The influence of winter conditions on soil N cycling is poorly understood. In this study, we used intact core incubations sampled periodically through the winter and following growing season to measure net N mineralization and nitrification in dry heath and in moist tussock tundra under ambient and experimentally increased snow depths (by use of a snowfence). In dry heath, we sampled soils under Dryas octopetela or Arctostaphylos alpine, while in tussock tundra, we sampled Eriophorum vaginatum tussocks and Sphagnum dominated areas between tussocks. Our objectives were to: (1) examine how different winter snow regimes influenced year-round N dynamics in the two tundra types, and (2) evaluate how these responses are affected by dominant species present in each system. In tussock tundra, soils with increased winter snow cover had high net N mineralization rates during the fall and winter, followed by immobilization during thaw. In contrast, N mineralization only occurred during the autumn in soils with ambient snow cover. During the growing season when N immobilization dominated in areas with ambient snow cover, soils with increased winter snow cover had positive net mineralization and nitrification rates. In dry heath tundra, soils with increased snow depth had high late winter net N mineralization rates, but these rates were: (a) comparable to early winter rates in soils under Arctostaphylos plants with ambient snow cover; (b) greater in soils under Arctostaphylos plants than in soils under Dryas plants; and (c) less than the rates found in tussock tundra. Our findings suggest under ambient snow conditions, low soil temperatures limit soil N mineralization, but that deeper snow conditions with the associated warmer winter soil temperatures dramatically increase over-winter N mineralization and thereby alter the amount and timing of plant-available N in tundra ecosystems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Increased snow depth affects microbial activity and nitrogen mineralization in two Arctic tundra communities - eScholarship

Here, we present results from the most comprehensive compilation of Holocene peat soil properties with associated carbon and nitrogen accumulation rates for northern peatlands. Our database consists of 268 peat cores from 215 sites located north of 45°N. It encompasses regions within which peat carbon data have only recently become available, such as the West Siberia Lowlands, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Kamchatka in Far East Russia, and the Tibetan Plateau. For all northern peatlands, carbon content in organic matter was estimated at 42 ± 3% (standard deviation) for Sphagnum peat, 51 ± 2% for non-Sphagnum peat, and at 49 ± 2% overall. Dry bulk density averaged 0.12 ± 0.07 g/cm3, organic matter bulk density averaged 0.11 ± 0.05 g/cm3, and total carbon content in peat averaged 47 ± 6%. In general, large differences were found between Sphagnum and non-Sphagnum peat types in terms of peat properties. Time-weighted peat carbon accumulation rates averaged 23 ± 2 (standard error of mean) g C/m2/yr during the Holocene on the basis of 151 peat cores from 127 sites, with the highest rates of carbon accumulation (25-28 g C/m2/yr) recorded during the early Holocene when the climate was

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A Database and Synthesis of Northern Peatland Soil Properties and Holocene Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation

"Support for this paper was provided by funding from the North Temperate Lakes LTER program, NSF DEB‐0822700."

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The ecology of methane in streams and rivers: patterns, controls, and global significance

Peatlands occupy a relatively small fraction of the Earth’s land area, but they are a globally important carbon store because of their high carbon density. Undisturbed peatlands are currently a wea...

Peatlands in the Earth's 21st century climate system

Rapidly rising temperatures in the Arctic might cause a greater release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere. To study the effect of warming on GHG dynamics, we deployed open-top chambers in a subarctic tundra site in Northeast European Russia. We determined carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), and nitrous oxide (N2 O) fluxes as well as the concentration of those gases, inorganic nitrogen (N) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) along the soil profile. Studied tundra surfaces ranged from mineral to organic soils and from vegetated to unvegetated areas. As a result of air warming, the seasonal GHG budget of the vegetated tundra surfaces shifted from a GHG sink of -300 to -198 g CO2 -eq m-2 to a source of 105 to 144 g CO2 -eq m-2 . At bare peat surfaces, we observed increased release of all three GHGs. While the positive warming response was dominated by CO2 , we provide here the first in situ evidence of increasing N2 O emissions from tundra soils with warming. Warming promoted N2 O release not only from bare peat, previously identified as a strong N2 O source, but also from the abundant, vegetated peat surfaces that do not emit N2 O under present climate. At these surfaces, elevated temperatures had an adverse effect on plant growth, resulting in lower plant N uptake and, consequently, better N availability for soil microbes. Although the warming was limited to the soil surface and did not alter thaw depth, it increased concentrations of DOC, CO2, and CH4 in the soil down to the permafrost table. This can be attributed to downward DOC leaching, fueling microbial activity at depth. Taken together, our results emphasize the tight linkages between plant and soil processes, and different soil layers, which need to be taken into account when predicting the climate change feedback of the Arctic.

Warming of subarctic tundra increases emissions of all three important greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas whose concentration is increasing in the atmosphere; the highest emissions have been observed from agricultural and tropical soils. Now, measurements in subarctic East European tundra show that bare surfaces on permafrost peatlands, known as peat circles, release large quantities of nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas whose concentration is increasing in the atmosphere1. So far, the highest terrestrial nitrous oxide emissions have been measured in agricultural and tropical soils2,3, and nitrous oxide emissions from northern natural soils have been considered negligible4,5. Pristine tundra, one of the largest natural land cover types in the world, is a mosaic of different surface types including bare surfaces created by cryoturbation6,7. Here we used a static chamber method to measure nitrous oxide emissions from the discontinuous permafrost zone in subarctic East European tundra. We show that nitrous oxide emissions from bare peat surfaces in the region, known as peat circles, range between 0.9 and 1.4 g nitrous oxide m−2 from June to October, and are equivalent to those from tropical and agricultural soils. Extrapolation of our data to the whole Arctic reveals that the emissions from these hot spots could amount to ∼0.1 Tg nitrous oxide yr−1, corresponding to 4% of the global warming potential of Arctic methane emissions at present. Therefore, not only carbon, but also nitrogen stored in permafrost soils, has to be considered when assessing the present and future climatic impact of tundra.

Large N2O emissions from cryoturbated peat soil in tundra

Large N2O emissions from cryoturbated peat soil in tundra. Nat Geosci 2:189-192

Liming is a common management practice used to achieve optimum pH for plant growth in agricultural soils. Addition of lime to the soil, however, may cause CO2 release when the carbonates in lime dissolve in water. Although lime may thereby constitute a significant carbon source, especially under acidic soil conditions, experimental data on the CO2 release are lacking so far. We conducted a split-plot experiment within a cut-away peatland cultivated with a bioenergy crop (reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinacea L.) with lime and fertilizer treatments to determine effects of lime on the CO2 emissions from soil and to better understand mechanisms underlying liming effects. Carbon dioxide release was measured over two growing seasons in the field after liming, and complementary laboratory studies were conducted. To differentiate CO2 derived from lime and biotic respiration the δ13C of CO2 released was determined and the two-pool mixing model was applied. The results showed that lime may contribute significantly to CO2 release from the soil. In the laboratory, more than 50% of CO2 release was attributable to lime-carbonates during short-term incubation. Lime-derived CO2 emissions were much lower in the field, and were only detected during the first (2–4) months after the application. However, a maximum of 12% of monthly CO2 emissions from the cultivated peatland originated from the lime. Biotic respiration rates were similar in limed and unlimed soils, suggesting that higher pH did not, at least in the short-term, increase carbon losses from cultivated peat soils. Additional fertilization and acidification did not contribute to further CO2 release from the lime. According to our first estimations about one sixth of the lime applied would be released as CO2 from the managed peatland, with all lime-derived emissions occurring during the first year of application (equivalent to about 4.6% of the total annual CO2 losses from the soil in the first year). This suggests that the mass-balance approach as proposed by the IPCC Tier 1 methodology, which assumes that all carbon in lime ends up as CO2 in the atmosphere, overestimates the emissions from lime. Our study further shows that there is a great risk to overestimate heterotrophic microbial activity in limed soils by measuring the CO2 release without separating abiotic and biotic CO2 production.

Direct experimental evidence for the contribution of lime to CO2 release from managed peat soil

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas produced in soil and aquatic ecosystems. Its warming potential is 296 times higher than that of CO2. Most N2O emission measurements made so far are limited in temporal and spatial resolution causing uncertainties in the global N2O budget. Recent advances in laser spectroscopic techniques provide an excellent tool for area-integrated, direct and continuous field measurements of N2O fluxes using the eddy covariance method. By employing this technique on an agricultural site with four laser-based analysers, we show here that N2O exchange exhibits contrasting diurnal behaviour depending upon soil nitrogen availability. When soil N was high due to fertilizer application, N2O emissions were higher during daytime than during the night. However, when soil N became limited, emissions were higher during the night than during the day. These reverse diurnal patterns supported by isotopic analyses may indicate a dominant role of plants on microbial processes associated with N2O exchange. This study highlights the potential of new technologies in improving estimates of global N2O sources.

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Saara E. Lind

Papers

Warming of subarctic tundra increases emissions of all three important greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide

Large N2O emissions from cryoturbated peat soil in tundra

Large N2O emissions from cryoturbated peat soil in tundra. Nat Geosci 2:189-192

Direct experimental evidence for the contribution of lime to CO2 release from managed peat soil

Neglecting diurnal variations leads to uncertainties in terrestrial nitrous oxide emissions