Carbon cycling, Sphagnum primary production and hydrology of a poor fen in Alberta, Canada

My research focuses on the links between the water table and carbon in a peatland. I measured CO2 and CH4 fluxes coupled with measurements of water table position to determine the relationship between C fluxes and the water table during two growing seasons on a poor fen site in Alberta. I found that as water table height increased, uptake of CO 2 by the peatland increased, and this response varied by microtopography and vegetation. I also found significant interactions between sampled year and microtopography as well as sampled year and vegetation type for both CO 2 and CH4 fluxes. Net primary production (NPP) plays an important role in the carbon cycling of a peatland. I quantified Sphagnum NPP as a function of distance to water table (a lawn to hummock gradient). I found that the dominant producer changed from hummock to lawn between the two sampled years likely due to climatic variation.