Greenhouse Gas Fluxes and Carbon Storages in Oligotrophic Peat Soils of Western Siberia

The carbon reserves (C) and the rates of emission of greenhouse gases (CO₂and CH4) in peat soils of Western Siberia have been studied. The peat soils are typical for region oligotrophic ones (Histosols), but they develop in two contrasting bog ecosystems (a forested bog and an open bog), therefore, they differ significantly in modern vegetation cover, soil profile structure, hydrological and temperature conditions. It has been shown that the carbon reserves in the studied peat soils in the 0–50 cm layer are 9.3 and 6.8 kg/m² in the forested and open bogs, respectively. Measurements of CO₂and CH4 emissions were carried out by the chamber static method during the growing seasons from 1999 to 2014. The results showed that the studied soils release into the atmosphere the same number of CO₂(116.1 and 123.4 mg/(m² h) for soil in a forested and open bog, respectively), but at the same time significantly differ number of CH4 (0.57 and 2.66 mg/(m² h), respectively). This research has highlighted an important role of vegetation species composition and hydrological regime in estimates of carbon deposition and greenhouse gas fluxes from peat oligotrophic soils of bog ecosystems in the region.