Near-neutral carbon dioxide balance at a seminatural, temperate bog ecosystem

The majority of peatlands in the temperate zone is subjected to drainage and agricultural land use and have been found to be anthropogenic emission hot spots for greenhouse gases. At the same time, many peatlands receive increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition by intensive agricultural practices. Here we provide eddy covariance measurements determining net ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange at a protected but moderately drained ombrotrophic bog in Northwestern Germany over three consecutive years. The region is dominated by intensive agricultural land use with total (wet and dry) atmospheric N deposition being about 25 kg Nha-1 yr-1. The investigated peat bog was a small net CO2 sink during all three years ranging from -9 to -73 g Cm-2 yr-1. We found temperature- and light-dependent ecosystem respiration (Reco) and gross primary production, respectively, but only weak correlations to water table depths despite large interannual and seasonal variability. Significant short-term effects of atmospheric N deposition on CO2 flux components could not be observed, as the primary controlling factors for N deposition and C sequestration, i.e., fertilization of adjacent fields as well as temperature and light availability, respectively, exceeded potential interactions between the two.