Simulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Peatland EcosystemUnder Global Warming and Elevated CO2 at the SPRUCE Experimental Site

Peatlands

peatland

Located within a terrestrial wetland environment where plant material cannot entirely decompose due to the presence of water.

Source: International Peatland Society Source

store about 20% of the global soil carbon

soil carbon

The measurable amount carbon dioxide stored in soil. It is the primary indicator of soil health, and it impacts the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of the soil.

Source: Science Direct Source

and play an important role in global carbon cycling. With global warming and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)

carbon dioxide (CO2)

An important heat-trapping gas, also known as a greenhouse gas, that comes from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), from wildfires, and natural processes like volcanic eruptions.

Source: NASA Source

concentration, these peatlands could release large amounts of greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane

methane

A hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas. Methane is also a greenhouse gas (GHG), so its presence in the atmosphere affects the earth’s temperature and climate system

Source: EPA Source

(CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) that would further accelerate global warming. The overall goal of this proposal is to quantify the dynamics and controls of peatland soil CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions using a process-based model (DeNitrification-DeComposition, DNDC) under different temperature and CO2 treatments, based on the DOE SPRUCE (Spruce and Peatland Response Under Changing Environments) experimental data. Extensive field measurements in the SPRUCE project make it an ideal site to parameterize the DNDC model and validate the model outputs. Specifically, we will simulate soil greenhouse gas emissions under five temperature treatments and two atmospheric CO2 concentrations in the peatland ecosystem using the DNDC model and explore the mechanisms of changes in soil greenhouse gas emissions and link these changes to microbial processes and environmental factors. Results of this project will improve our understanding of the magnitudes and controls of peatland soil greenhouse gas emissions and reduce uncertainties of the greenhouse gas emission estimations. The project will help develop research capabilities in climate and Earth system modeling and global change ecology

ecology

The interrelationships between living organisms and their environments.

Source: NASA earth observatory Source

at Tennessee State University and strengthen its partnership and collaboration with the DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project will also train graduate and undergraduate students at Tennessee State University who are underrepresented in climate and environmental sciences.