Carbon stocks and their spatial distribution in drained and rewetted peatland forests in a low mountain range area, Germany

Abstract

Drainage and rewetting of peatlands changes their carbon (C) dynamics. We measured C stocks in the soil and biomass of drained and rewetted peatland forests in the region of the National Park Hunsrück-Hochwald, Germany. A detailed soil map was produced, showing the important soil properties for soil C stocks. Based on the horizon-substrate combination as well as LiDAR data, the spatial distribution of soil and forest C stocks was analysed. Our results show that our peatland sites have shallow soils with a heterogeneous spatial distribution. Mean (± SE) soil C stocks in the monitoring sites are 121(± 8) t ha-1 whereas the forest stores on average 71(± 0.2) t ha-1 of C in the biomass. Tree removal in the drained peatlands reduced the total C stocks by 4,430 t. The quality and longevity of the wood products that arise from tree removal will determine whether or not the harvested portion of the C captured by the trees is sequestered over long timescales. Additionally, the success of rewetting activities and the potential soil carbon sequestration or (non-) soil carbon loss will determine whether these ecosystems are carbon sinks or sources. An extrapolation of our data resulted in estimated C stocks of 171,530 t and 544,282 t for peatland soils and for the spruce forest, respectively, for the whole area of the National Park (about 10,000 ha).

Keywords

• drainage
• forest carbon stocks
• peat
• rewetting
• soil carbon stocks
• tree removal