Monitoring the multi year carbon balance of a subarctic palsa mire with micrometeorological techniques

• This article reports a dataset on 8 years of monitoring carbon fluxes in a subarctic palsa mire based on micrometeorological eddy covariance measurements. The mire is a complex with wet minerotrophic areas and elevated dry palsa as well as intermediate sub-ecosystems. The measurements document primarily the emission originating from the wet parts of the mire dominated by a rather homogenous cover of Eriophorum angustifolium. The CO2/CH4 flux measurements performed during the years 2001-2008 showed that the areas represented in the measurements were a relatively stable sink of carbon with an average annual rate of uptake amounting to on average -46 g C m(-2) y(-1) including an equally stable loss through CH4 emissions (18-22 g CH4-C m(-2) y(-1)). This consistent carbon sink combined with substantial CH4 emissions is most likely what is to be expected as the permafrost under palsa mires degrades in response to climate warming.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Naturgeografi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Physical Geography (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Carbon cycling

Subarctic mire

Permafrost

Land-atmosphere exchange

Climate change

Carbon cycling

Subarctic mire

Permafrost

Land-atmosphere exchange

Climate change

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)