Book Description

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 184. Carbon Cycling in Northern Peatlands examines the role that northern peatlands play in regulating the atmospheric carbon budget. It summarizes current research in four interconnected areas: large-scale peatland dynamics and carbon cycling; plant and microbial dynamics and their effect on carbon fluxes to the atmosphere; methane accumulation in, and loss from, peatlands; and water and dissolved carbon fluxes through peatlands. The volume highlights include A thorough assessment of the challenges involved in incorporating carbon cycling in northern peatlands into global climate models; A conceptual model to examine the partitioning of terminal carbon mineralization into production of CO2 and CH4; A comprehensive review of the evidence for the accumulation of methane in deep and shallow peat; and A description of the hydrologic changes induced by peat harvesting and associated challenges in restoring altered peatlands to their natural hydrologic regime. Carbon Cycling in Northern Peatlands will be of interest to research scientists and graduate and undergraduate students, particularly those who wish to know more about the role of peatlands in the global carbon cycle and their role as modifiers of climate.