Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands

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dc.contributor.authorYoung, Dylan M.
dc.contributor.authorBaird, Andy J.
dc.contributor.authorMorris, Paul J.
dc.contributor.authorDargie, Greta C.
dc.contributor.authorMampouya Wenina, Y. Emmanuel
dc.contributor.authorMbemba, Mackline
dc.contributor.authorBoom, Arnoud
dc.contributor.authorCook, Peter
dc.contributor.authorBetts, Richard
dc.contributor.authorBurke, Eleanor
dc.contributor.authorBocko, Yannick E.
dc.contributor.authorChadburn, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorCrabtree, Dafydd E.
dc.contributor.authorCrezee, Bart
dc.contributor.authorEwango, Corneille E. N.
dc.contributor.authorGarcin, Yannick
dc.contributor.authorGeorgiou, Selena
dc.contributor.authorGirkin, Nicholas T.
dc.contributor.authorGulliver, Pauline
dc.contributor.authorJovani-Sancho, A. Jonay
dc.contributor.authorSchefuß, Enno
dc.contributor.authorSciumbata, Matteo
dc.contributor.authorSjögersten, Sofie
dc.contributor.authorLewis, Simon L.
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-25T10:40:39Z
dc.date.available2023-10-25T10:40:39Z
dc.date.issued2023-10-10
dc.description.abstractPeatlands of the central Congo Basin have accumulated carbon over millennia. They currently store some 29 billion tonnes of carbon in peat. However, our understanding of the controls on peat carbon accumulation and loss and the vulnerability of this stored carbon to climate change is in its infancy. Here we present a new model of tropical peatland development, DigiBog_Congo, that we use to simulate peat carbon accumulation and loss in a rain-fed interfluvial peatland that began forming ~20,000 calendar years Before Present (cal. yr BP, where ‘present’ is 1950 CE). Overall, the simulated age-depth curve is in good agreement with palaeoenvironmental reconstructions derived from a peat core at the same location as our model simulation. We find two key controls on long-term peat accumulation: water at the peat surface (surface wetness) and the very slow anoxic decay of recalcitrant material. Our main simulation shows that between the Late Glacial and early Holocene there were several multidecadal periods where net peat and carbon gain alternated with net loss. Later, a climatic dry phase beginning ~5200 cal. yr BP caused the peatland to become a long-term carbon source from ~3975 to 900 cal. yr BP. Peat as old as ~7000 cal. yr BP was decomposed before the peatland's surface became wetter again, suggesting that changes in rainfall alone were sufficient to cause a catastrophic loss of peat carbon lasting thousands of years. During this time, 6.4 m of the column of peat was lost, resulting in 57% of the simulated carbon stock being released. Our study provides an approach to understanding the future impact of climate change and potential land-use change on this vulnerable store of carbon.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationYoung DM, Baird AJ, Morris PJ, et al., (2023) Simulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlands. Global Change Biology, Volume 29, Issue 23, December 2023, pp. 6812-6827en_UK
dc.identifier.issn1354-1013
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16966
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/20446
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherWileyen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectcarbon accumulationen_UK
dc.subjectCongo Basin peatlandsen_UK
dc.subjectpalaeoenvironmental reconstructionen_UK
dc.subjectsimulationen_UK
dc.subjectmodelen_UK
dc.subjecttropical peaten_UK
dc.titleSimulating carbon accumulation and loss in the central Congo peatlandsen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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