Peatland methane emissions: Improving process-based understanding to foster better management practices

泥炭地是一种湿地生态系统，它在土壤中积累了一层厚厚的有机物质。它们覆盖了加拿大12%的陆地面积和超过30%的北部地区，代表着大量的土壤碳储量，仅在加拿大的泥炭地就有150160 GT。这大约占目前大气中所有碳的18%。但是，泥炭地也是一种强有力的温室气体(GHG)CH4的全球重要来源。泥炭地碳储存和温室气体交换正在因气候变化和土地利用而改变，但改进的管理战略可以帮助保护泥炭地碳储量，允许将这些生态系统用作自然气候解决方案，以帮助缓解气候变化。然而，对泥炭地CH4排放在多种干扰下的驱动因素的了解仍然有限。因此，我的研究计划的长期目标是提高对泥炭地碳交换在一系列干扰制度下的驱动因素的理解，以便量化和管理泥炭地碳储存和温室气体交换。为了在未来五年实现这一目标，我的研究计划的目标是：1)确定气候变化对沼泽CH4动态的影响，2)量化野火对泥炭地CH4排放的影响，3)调查恢复泥炭地CH4动态的生态控制，4)建立泥炭地响应线性干扰的CH4排放模型。 为了达到拟议的目标，我将使用实地研究、生长室和实验室实验以及数值模拟相结合的方法来培训一名博士后研究员、三名博士生、三名硕士和四名本科生。该团队将在泥炭地类型(沼泽、沼泽和沼泽)的范围内开展工作，以提高对从微生物到生态系统规模的泥炭地CH4排放驱动因素的理解。 这一研究计划的结果将提供对泥炭地CH4排放在各种干扰制度下的更好的机械理解。这些知识可用于制定泥炭地管理决策，在保持碳储存功能的同时最大限度地减少温室气体排放，从而创建将泥炭地用作自然气候解决方案的最佳管理实践。因此，结果可以为国家气候缓解战略提供参考，也可以被工业界用来最大限度地抵消与恢复活动有关的温室气体抵消。结果还可以用来改进土地利用对泥炭地温室气体排放的影响的估计，这是加拿大向《联合国气候变化公约》提交的国家清单报告中所需的。最后，该计划将帮助培训下一代科学家，他们可以将这些管理实践应用于现场，并通过与学术界、政府、行业和非政府组织合作来评估其对生态系统功能的影响。

Peatlands are wetland ecosystems that have accumulated a thick layer of organic material in their soils. They cover 12% of Canada's land area and over 30% of the boreal region and represent a substantial stock of soil carbon, 150160 Gt in Canadian peatlands alone. This represents approximately 18% of all the carbon currently in the atmosphere. But, peatlands are also a globally significant source of CH4, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Peatland carbon storage and GHG exchange is being altered by climate change and land use, but improved management strategies could help protect peatland carbon stocks, allowing for the use of these ecosystems as natural climate solutions to help mitigate climate change. However, understanding of drivers of peatland CH4 emissions under many types of disturbance is still limited. Therefore, the long term objective of my research program is to improve understanding of drivers of peatland carbon exchange across a range of disturbance regimes in order to quantify and manage peatland carbon storage and GHG exchange. In order to address this goal over the next five years, the objectives of my research program are to: 1) determine climate change impacts on swamp CH4 dynamics, 2) quantify the effect of wildfire on peatland CH4 emissions, 3) investigate ecological controls on CH4 dynamics in restored peatlands and 4) model CH4 emissions in response to linear disturbance in peatlands. In order to address the proposed objectives, I will use a combination of field-based studies, growth chamber and laboratory experiments, and numerical modelling to train one post-doctoral fellow, three PhD students, three Masters students and four undergraduate students. The team will work across of range of peatland types (swamps, fens and bogs) to improve understanding of the drivers of peatland CH4 emission from the microbe to ecosystem-scale. Results from this research program will provide improved mechanistic understanding of peatland CH4 emissions under a variety of disturbance regimes. This knowledge can be used to make peatland management decisions that retain carbon storage function while minimizing GHG emissions, thus creating best management practices for using peatlands as natural climate solutions. Results can therefore inform national climate mitigation strategies, but also be used by industry to maximize GHG offsets related to restoration activities. Results can also be used to improve estimates of land-use impacts on peatland GHG emissions needed for reporting in Canada's National Inventory Report to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Finally, the program will help to train the next generation of scientists that can apply these management practices in the field and evaluate their impact on ecosystem function by working with academics, government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.