Climate warming and elevated CO2 alter peatland soil carbon sources and stability

Peatlands are an important global carbon (C) reservoir storing at least one-third of global soil organic carbon (SOC), but little is known about the stability of these vast C stocks under climate change. Here, we examine the impact of four years of warming (+0, +2.25, +4.5, +6.75, +9 °C) and two years of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (eCO2) on the molecular composition of SOC to infer SOC sources (microbe-, plant- and fire-derived) and stability in a boreal peatland. We show that while warming alone decreased plant- and microbe-derived SOC due to enhanced decomposition, warming combined with eCO2 increased plant-derived SOC compounds. Further, using biopolymers distinct to either leaf/needle (cutin) or root (suberin), we observed increasing root-derived inputs and declining leaf-derived C inputs into SOC under warming and eCO2. Unsurprisingly, SOC derived from historical pyrolysis (pyrogenic C) was unaffected by warming or eCO2. The decline in SOC compounds with warming and gains from new root-derived C under eCO2, suggest that warming and eCO2 may shift peatland C budget towards pools with faster turnover. Together, our results indicate that climate change may increase inputs and enhance decomposition of SOC potentially destabilising C storage in peatlands.