Effects of plant species and disturbance on ecosystem function in Boreal peatlands

高纬度地区正在经历快速的气候变化，这导致生长季节延长，永久冻土退化，年烧伤面积增加一倍以上。北方生物群有可能抑制或放大未来的气候变化，这取决于生态系统碳和能量通量对环境变化的反应。超过80%的北方土壤碳库储存在泥炭地中，泥炭地覆盖了加拿大约120万平方公里的土地。虽然泥炭地显然是大气碳的长期汇，但目前尚不清楚它们是否会继续积累碳，或者这些生态系统是否会在未来的气候制度下开始向大气释放碳。泥炭地碳循环控制的研究不仅对理解北方生态系统功能的基本原理具有重要意义，而且对理解和改善全球变化也具有重要的应用意义。

High latitude regions are experiencing rapid climate change, which has led to longer growing seasons, permafrost degradation, and more than a doubling of annual burn areas. The boreal biome has the potential to either curtail or amplify future climate change depending on how ecosystem carbon and energy fluxes respond to environmental change. More than 80% of the boreal soil carbon pool is stored in peatlands, which cover about 1.2 million km2 of land in Canada. While peatlands clearly have served as a long-term sink of atmospheric carbon, it is unclear whether they will continue to accumulate carbon, or whether these ecosystems will begin to release carbon back to the atmosphere under future climate regimes. Investigations of the controls on peatland carbon cycling are important for understanding the fundamental principles of ecosystem function in northern systems, but also have significant applied relevance for the understanding and amelioration of global change.