Browsing by Subject "isotope"

Peatlands play an important role in the carbon cycle. Natural peatlands are in general sinks of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sources of methane (CH4), whereas drained peatland forests are CH4 sinks but their CO2 emissions increase compared to natural peatlands. Rotational even-aged forestry followed by ditch network maintenance (DNM) affect the water dynamics of the soil by increasing the water table level (WTL) first during clear-cut after which the WTL is lowered by DNM. Rising of WTL causes more anaerobic conditions and risk that CH4 sink turns into CH4 emissions. Lowering the WTL causes more aerobic conditions and strengthens the CH4 sink function but also increases CO2 emissions. In continuous cover forestry (CCF) where only part of the trees are removed, WTL would be naturally maintained. This could maintain CH4 sinks while lowering CO2 emissions by keeping the WTL at an adequate depth. Net emissions of CO2 and CH4 could be expected to follow the changes in CO2 and CH4 concentrations in soil. To understand the processes isotopic values can be used to interpret the production pathways of CO2 and CH4 since different pathways produce different isotope values. In this master’s thesis the aim was to study how the concentration of CO2 and CH4 as well as CO2 isotope values change in a peat soil and how partial harvest affects them. Gas samples were collected from the peat profile (5 – 65cm) at two different drained peatland forests, Lettosuo and Paroninkorpi, from control plots and partial harvested plots during 2019 and 2020. Samples were also collected from the moss layer. In addition, WTL, temperature of peat and O2 concentrations were measured. Concentrations and isotope values were analysed the laboratory with gas chromatography and isotope analyser (Picarro G2201-i). Water table level and temperature were generally higher in partial harvested areas than in control. Highest concentrations of both CO2 and CH4 were found in the deeper layers of the soil. Partial harvest had higher CO2 and CH4 concentrations in the deep layers (50 – 65cm) than control. The differences between partial harvest and control areas could be explained with the higher WTL in partial harvest. The measured isotopic values of CO2 indicated that most of the CO2 in the soil was derived from atmosphere or heterotrophic respiration and only <<20 % of CO2 was derived from CH4 oxidation. Even though both in control and in partial harvest the CH4 concentrations in the deep soil layers were high, the oxidation processes decrease the concentrations under the atmospheric CH4 concentration maintaining the CH4 sinks in both treatments. In partial harvest the CH4 sink is not in risk due to oxidation even though the WTL is higher. This should be verified with gas flux measurements.