Early post-fire carbon dynamics and vegetation recovery in managed peatlands

Peatlands store approximately 600 gigatons of carbon (Gt C) and play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. In the Boreal Plains of Alberta, we quantified the effects of wildfire, peat harvesting and restoration on soil carbon fluxes, vegetation recovery and the influence of environmental conditions on soil respiration. Mean soil carbon emissions from burned sites (BH: 5.29 g C m−2 d−1, BU: 4.64 g C m−2 d−1) were approximately 96% higher than those from the rewetted, unburned site (UH: 2.53 g C m−2 d−1), with consistently greater emissions from peatland margins than middle positions. Active restoration appeared to mitigate soil carbon emissions, while vegetation surveys show that burned, harvested sites were dominated by vascular, non-peatland species, indicating the potential for a regime shift without intervention. These findings support active restoration as a means of reducing soil carbon losses and promoting peatland recovery following harvesting and wildfire.