RUI: Post-fire Carbon Balance in the Peatland Region of Boreal Western Canada

未受干扰的泥炭地生态系统被认为是大气碳(C)的净汇。这项研究集中在加拿大西部艾伯塔省、萨斯喀彻温省和马尼托巴省的泥炭地的碳平衡，该地区的干扰，特别是火灾，削弱了该地区的碳汇强度。除了燃烧造成的直接碳损失外，泥炭地在火灾后继续释放碳，因为泥炭继续分解，火灾后植被的净初级生产力大大减少。调查人员将研究野火对加拿大西部泥炭地碳平衡的影响。这项研究围绕三个问题展开：火灾后碳通量在加拿大西部泥炭地的空间和时间上是如何变化的；火灾后碳平衡恢复的区域差异在多大程度上可归因于火灾后植物演替路径的变化；以及火灾后碳平衡恢复的区域差异在多大程度上可归因于火灾后植物养分和烧毁泥炭基质中水分条件的变化？

Undisturbed peatland ecosystems are believed to represent a net sink for atmospheric carbon (C). This research focuses on C balance in western Canadian peatlands of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a region where disturbances, especially fire, diminish the regional C sink strength. In addition to direct C losses via combustion, peatlands continue to release C after fire, as peat decomposition continues with greatly diminished post-fire net primary production of vegetation. The investigators will examine the effects of wildfire on the C balance of peatlands across western Canada. The research is structured around three questions: how do post-fire C fluxes vary spatially and temporally across western Canadian peatlands; to what extent is regional variation in post-fire C-balance recovery attributable to variation in post-fire plant successional pathways; and to what extent is regional variation in post-fire C-balance recovery attributable to variation in post-fire plant nutrient and moisture conditions in the burned peat substrate?