Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

Treat, C.C.; Kleinen, T.; Broothaerts, N.; Dalton, A.S.; Dommain, R.; Douglas, T.A.; Drexler, J.; Finkelstein, G.; Grosse, G.; Hope, G.; Hutchings, J.; Jones, M.C.; Kuhry, P.; Lacourse, T.; Lähteenoja, O.; Loisel, J.; Notebaert, B.; Payne, R.; Peteet, D.; Sannel, A.B.K.; Stelling, J.M.; Strauss, J.; Swindles, G.; Talbot, J.; Tarnocai, C.; Väliranta, M.; Verstraeten, G.; Williams, C.J.; Xia, Z.; Yu, Z.; Hättestrand, M.; Alexanderson, H.; Brovkin, V.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1813305116

Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

Treat, C.C.; Kleinen, T.; Broothaerts, N.; Dalton, A.S.; Dommain, R.; Douglas, T.A.; Drexler, J.; Finkelstein, G.; Grosse, G.; Hope, G.; Hutchings, J.; Jones, M.C.; Kuhry, P.; Lacourse, T.; Lähteenoja, O.; Loisel, J.; Notebaert, B.; Payne, R.; Peteet, D.; Sannel, A.B.K.; Stelling, J.M.; Strauss, J.; Swindles, G.; Talbot, J.; Tarnocai, C.; Väliranta, M.; Verstraeten, G.; Williams, C.J.; Xia, Z.; Yu, Z.; Hättestrand, M.; Alexanderson, H.; Brovkin, V.

Authors

C.C. Treat

T. Kleinen

N. Broothaerts

A.S. Dalton

R. Dommain

T.A. Douglas

J. Drexler

G. Finkelstein

G. Grosse

G. Hope

J. Hutchings

M.C. Jones

P. Kuhry

T. Lacourse

O. Lähteenoja

J. Loisel

B. Notebaert

R. Payne

D. Peteet

A.B.K. Sannel

J.M. Stelling

J. Strauss

G. Swindles

J. Talbot

C. Tarnocai

M. Väliranta

G. Verstraeten

C.J. Williams

Z. Xia

Z. Yu

M. Hättestrand

H. Alexanderson

V. Brovkin

Abstract

Glacial−interglacial variations in CO2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled database of 1,063 detailed stratigraphic records of peat deposits buried by mineral sediments, as well as a global peatland model. Quantitative agreement between modeling and observations shows extensive peat accumulation before the LGM in northern latitudes (>40°N), particularly during warmer periods including the last interglacial (130 ka to 116 ka, MIS 5e) and the interstadial (57 ka to 29 ka, MIS 3). During cooling periods of glacial advance and permafrost formation, the burial of northern peatlands by glaciers and mineral sediments decreased active peatland extent, thickness, and modeled C stocks by 70 to 90% from warmer times. Tropical peatland extent and C stocks show little temporal variation throughout the study period. While the increased burial of northern peats was correlated with cooling periods, the burial of tropical peat was predominately driven by changes in sea level and regional hydrology. Peat burial by mineral sediments represents a mechanism for long-term terrestrial C storage in the Earth system. These results show that northern peatlands accumulate significant C stocks during warmer times, indicating their potential for C sequestration during the warming Anthropocene.

Citation

Treat, C., Kleinen, T., Broothaerts, N., Dalton, A., Dommain, R., Douglas, T., …Brovkin, V. (2019). Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(11), 4822-4827. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jan 7, 2019
Online Publication Date	Feb 25, 2019
Publication Date	Mar 12, 2019
Deposit Date	Jan 11, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Aug 25, 2019
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Print ISSN	0027-8424
Electronic ISSN	1091-6490
Publisher	National Academy of Sciences
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	116
Issue	11
Pages	4822-4827
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116

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