Gallego-Sala, Angela V. and Charman, Dan J. and Brewer, Simon and Page, Susan E. and Prentice, I. Colin and Friedlingstein, Pierre and Moreton, Steve and Amesbury, Matthew J. and Beilman, David W. and Bjorck, Svante and Blyakharchuk, Tatiana and Bochicchio, Christopher and Booth, Robert K. and Bunbury, Joan and Camill, Philip and Carless, Donna and Chimner, Rodney A. and Clifford, Michael and Cressey, Elizabeth and Courtney-Mustaphi, Colin and De Vleeschouwer, Francois and de Jong, Rixt and Fialkiewicz-Koziel, Barbara and Finkelstein, Sarah A. and Garneau, Michelle and Githumbi, Esther and Hribjlan, John and Holmquist, James and Hughes, Paul D.M. and Jones, Chris and Jones, Miriam C. and Karofeld, Edgar and Klein, Eric S. and Kokfelt, Ulla and Korhola, Atte A. and Lacourse, Terri and Le Roux, Gael and Lamentowicz, Marisuz and Large, David and Lavoie, Martin and Loisel, Julie and Mackay, Helen and MacDonald, Glen M. and Makila, Markku and Magnan, Gabriel and Marchant, Robert and Marcisz, Katarzyna and Cortizas, Antonio Martinez and Massa, Charly and Mathijssen, Paul and Mauquoy, Dmitri and Mighall, Timothy and Mitchell, Fraser J.G. and Moss, Patrick and Nichols, Jonathan and Oksanen, Pirita O. and Orme, Lisa C. and Packalen, Maara S. and Robinson, Stephen and Roland, Thomas P. and Sanderson, Nicole K. and Sannel, A Britta and Silva-Sánchez, Noemí and Steinberg, Natascha and Swindles, Graeme T. and Turner, T Edward and Uglow, Joanna and Väliranta, Minna and van Bellen, Simon and der Linden, Marjolein and van Geel, Bas and Wang, Guoping and Yu, Zicheng and Zaragoza-Castells, Joana and Zhao, Yan (2018) Latitudinal limits to the predicted increase of the peatland carbon sink with warming. Nature Climate Change, 8. pp. 907-913. ISSN 1758-678X

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Abstract

The carbon sink potential of peatlands depends on the balance of carbon uptake by plants and microbial decomposition. The rates of both these processes will increase with warming but it remains unclear which will dominate the global peatland response. Here we examine the global relationship between peatland carbon accumulation rates during the last millennium and planetary-scale climate space. A positive relationship is found between carbon accumulation and cumulative photosynthetically active radiation during the growing season for mid- to high-latitude peatlands in both hemispheres. However, this relationship reverses at lower latitudes, suggesting that carbon accumulation is lower under the warmest climate regimes. Projections under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios indicate that the present-day global sink will increase slightly until around ad 2100 but decline thereafter. Peatlands will remain a carbon sink in the future, but their response to warming switches from a negative to a positive climate feedback (decreased carbon sink with warming) at the end of the twenty-first century.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Gallego-Sala, A.V., Charman, D.J., Brewer, S. et al. Latitudinal limits to the predicted increase of the peatland carbon sink with warming. Nature Clim Change 8, 907–913 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0271-1
Keywords:	Latitudinal; limits; predicted increase; peatland; carbon sink; warming;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS
Item ID:	13152
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0271-1
Depositing User:	Lisa Orme
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2020 15:50
Journal or Publication Title:	Nature Climate Change
Publisher:	Nature Publishing Group
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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