Ruth K. Varner

Seasonal patterns and controls on net ecosystem CO2 exchange in a boreal peatland complex

We measured seasonal patterns of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 in a diverse peatland complex underlain by discontinuous permafrost in northern Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Boreal Ecosystems Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). Study sites spanned the full range of peatland trophic and moisture gradients found in boreal environments from bog (pH 3.9) to rich fen (pH 7.2). During midseason (July-August, 1996), highest rates of NEE and respiration followed the trophic sequence of bog (5.4 to −3.9 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < poor fen (6.3 to −6.5 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < intermediate fen (10.5 to −7.8 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) < rich fen (14.9 to −8.7 μmol CO2m−2 s−1). The sequence changed during spring (May-June) and fall (September-October) when ericaceous shrub (e.g., Chamaedaphne calyculata) bogs and sedge (Carex spp.) communities in poor to intermediate fens had higher maximum CO2 fixation rates than deciduous shrub-dominated (Salix spp. and Betula spp.) rich fens. Timing of snowmelt and differential rates of peat surface thaw in microtopographic hummocks and hollows controlled the onset of carbon uptake in spring. Maximum photosynthesis and respiration were closely correlated throughout the growing season with a ratio of approximately 1/3 ecosystem respiration to maximum carbon uptake at all sites across the trophic gradient. Soil temperatures above the water table and timing of surface thaw and freeze-up in the spring and fall were more important to net CO2 exchange than deep soil warming. This close coupling of maximum CO2 uptake and respiration to easily measurable variables, such as trophic status, peat temperature, and water table, will improve models of wetland carbon exchange. Although trophic status, aboveground net primary productivity, and surface temperatures were more important than water level in predicting respiration on a daily basis, the mean position of the water table was a good predictor (r2 = 0.63) of mean respiration rates across the range of plant community and moisture gradients. Q10 values ranged from 3.0 to 4.1 from bog to rich fen, but when normalized by above ground vascular plant biomass, the Q10 for all sites was 3.3.

Soil–Atmosphere Exchange of Nitrous Oxide, Nitric Oxide, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide in Logged and Undisturbed Forest in the Tapajos National Forest, Brazil

Soil-Atmosphere Exchange of Nitrous Oxide, Nitric Oxide, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide in Logged and Undisturbed Forest in the Tapajos National Forest, Brazil,

Wetlands: A potentially significant source of atmospheric methyl bromide and methyl chloride

Tropospheric methyl bromide (CH 3 Br) and methyl chloride (CH 3 Cl) are significant sources of ozone (O 3 ) destroying halogens to the stratosphere. Their O 3 depletion potential (ODP) can be determined from atmospheric lifetimes and therefore their atmospheric budgets, both of which are out of balance with known sink terms larger than identified sources. We have discovered a new source of CH 3 Br and CH 3 Cl emissions to the atmosphere at two wetland sites in the Northeastern United States. We have reason to believe that these compounds are biologically produced in situ. Our measurements indicate that the global annual flux of CH 3 Br and CH 3 Cl from wetlands could be as high as 4.6 Gg yr -1 of CH 3 Br and 48 Gg yr -1 of CH 3 Cl. These are preliminary estimates based on measurements made during the end of the 1998 growing season, a time period of decreased emissions of other trace gases such as methane (CH 4 ).

Temperature and peat type control CO2 and CH4 production in Alaskan permafrost peats

Controls on the fate of ~277 Pg of soil organic carbon (C) stored in permafrost peatland soils remain poorly understood despite the potential for a significant positive feedback to climate change. Our objective was to quantify the temperature, moisture, organic matter, and microbial controls on soil organic carbon (SOC) losses following permafrost thaw in peat soils across Alaska. We compared the carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ) emissions from peat samples collected at active layer and permafrost depths when incubated aerobically and anaerobically at -5, -0.5, +4, and +20 °C. Temperature had a strong, positive effect on C emissions; global warming potential (GWP) was >3× larger at 20 °C than at 4 °C. Anaerobic conditions significantly reduced CO2 emissions and GWP by 47% at 20 °C but did not have a significant effect at -0.5 °C. Net anaerobic CH4 production over 30 days was 7.1 ± 2.8 μg CH4 -C gC(-1) at 20 °C. Cumulative CO2 emissions were related to organic matter chemistry and best predicted by the relative abundance of polysaccharides and proteins (R(2) = 0.81) in SOC. Carbon emissions (CO2 -C + CH4 -C) from the active layer depth peat ranged from 77% larger to not significantly different than permafrost depths and varied depending on the peat type and peat decomposition stage rather than thermal state. Potential SOC losses with warming depend not only on the magnitude of temperature increase and hydrology but also organic matter quality, permafrost history, and vegetation dynamics, which will ultimately determine net radiative forcing due to permafrost thaw.

Energy input is primary controller of methane bubbling in subarctic lakes

Emission of methane (CH4) from surface waters is often dominated by ebullition (bubbling), a transport mode with high-spatiotemporal variability. Based on new and extensive CH4 ebullition data, we ...

High-frequency measurements of methane ebullition over a growing season at a temperate peatland site

Bubbles can contribute a significant fraction of methane emissions from wetlands; however the range of reported fractions is very large and accurate characterization of this pathway has proven diff ...

Consumption of Tropospheric Levels of Methyl Bromide by C1 Compound-Utilizing Bacteria and Comparison to Saturation Kinetics

ABSTRACT Pure cultures of methylotrophs and methanotrophs are known to oxidize methyl bromide (MeBr); however, their ability to oxidize tropospheric concentrations (parts per trillion by volume [pptv]) has not been tested. Methylotrophs and methanotrophs were able to consume MeBr provided at levels that mimicked the tropospheric mixing ratio of MeBr (12 pptv) at equilibrium with surface waters (≈2 pM). Kinetic investigations using picomolar concentrations of MeBr in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) were performed using strain IMB-1 andLeisingeria methylohalidivorans strain MB2T— terrestrial and marine methylotrophs capable of halorespiration. First-order uptake of MeBr with no indication of threshold was observed for both strains. Strain MB2T displayed saturation kinetics in batch experiments using micromolar MeBr concentrations, with an apparent Ks of 2.4 μM MeBr and aVmax of 1.6 nmol h−1(106 cells)−1. Apparent first-order degradation rate constants measured with the CSTR were consistent with kinetic parameters determined in batch experiments, which used 35- to 1 × 107-fold-higher MeBr concentrations. Ruegeria algicola (a phylogenetic relative of strain MB2T), the common heterotrophs Escherichia coli andBacillus pumilus, and a toluene oxidizer,Pseudomonas mendocina KR1, were also tested. These bacteria showed no significant consumption of 12 pptv MeBr; thus, the ability to consume ambient mixing ratios of MeBr was limited to C1 compound-oxidizing bacteria in this study. Aerobic C1 bacteria may provide model organisms for the biological oxidation of tropospheric MeBr in soils and waters.

Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22‐year synthesis

To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and inter-annual variations in soil respiration (R-s), we analyzed m ...

Effect of permafrost thaw on CO2 and CH4 exchange in a western Alaska peatland chronosequence

Permafrost soils store over half of global soil carbon (C), and northern frozen peatlands store about 10% of global permafrost C. With thaw, inundation of high latitude lowland peatlands typically increases the surface-atmosphere flux of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. To examine the effects of lowland permafrost thaw over millennial timescales, we measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4 exchange along sites that constitute a ?1000 yr thaw chronosequence of thermokarst collapse bogs and adjacent fen locations at Innoko Flats Wildlife Refuge in western Alaska. Peak CH4 exchange in July (123???71 mg CH4?C m?2 d?1) was observed in features that have been thawed for 30 to 70 (<100) yr, where soils were warmer than at more recently thawed sites (14 to 21 yr; emitting 1.37???0.67 mg CH4?C m?2 d?1 in July) and had shallower water tables than at older sites (200 to 1400 yr; emitting 6.55???2.23 mg CH4?C m?2 d?1 in July). Carbon lost via CH4 efflux during the growing season at these intermediate age sites was 8% of uptake by net ecosystem exchange. Our results provide evidence that CH4 emissions following lowland permafrost thaw are enhanced over decadal time scales, but limited over millennia. Over larger spatial scales, adjacent fen systems may contribute sustained CH4 emission, CO2 uptake, and DOC export. We argue that over timescales of decades to centuries, thaw features in high-latitude lowland peatlands, particularly those developed on poorly drained mineral substrates, are a key locus of elevated CH4 emission to the atmosphere that must be considered for a complete understanding of high latitude CH4 dynamics.

Nanoparticle growth following photochemical α‐ and β‐pinene oxidation at Appledore Island during International Consortium for Research on Transport and Transformation/Chemistry of Halogens at the Isles of Shoals 2004

[1] Nanoparticle events were observed 48 times in particle size distributions at Appledore Island during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation/Chemistry of Halogens on the Isles of Shoals (ICARTT/CHAiOS) field campaign from 2 July to 12 August of 2004. Eighteen of the nanoparticle events showed particle growth and occurred during mornings when peaks in mixing ratios of a- and b-pinene and ozone made production of condensable products from photochemical oxidation probable. Many pollutants and other potential precursors for aerosol formation were also at elevated mixing ratios during these events, including NO, HNO3 ,N H3, HCl, propane, and several other volatile organic carbon compounds. There were no consistent changes in particle composition, although both submicron and supermicron particles included high maximum concentrations of methane sulfonate, sulfate, iodide, nitrate, and ammonium during these events. Nanoparticle growth continued over several hours with a nearly linear rate of increase of diameter with time. The observed nanoparticle growth rates varied from 3 to 13 nm h � 1 . Apparent nanoparticle aerosol mass fractions (yields) were estimated to range from less than 0.0005 to almost 1 using a- and b-pinene as the presumed particle source. These apparent high aerosol mass fractions (yields) at low changes in aerosol mass are up to two orders of magnitude greater than predictions from extrapolated laboratory parameterizations and may provide a more accurate assessment of secondary organic aerosol formation for estimating the growth of nanoparticles in global models. Citation: Russell, L. M., A. A. Mensah, E. V. Fischer, B. C. Sive, R. K. Varner, W. C. Keene, J. Stutz, and A. A. P. Pszenny (2007), Nanoparticle growth following photochemical a- and b-pinene oxidation at Appledore Island during International Consortium for Research on Transport and Transformation/Chemistry of Halogens at the Isles of Shoals 2004, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D10S21,