Study of Abandoned Peat Mine to Aid in Climate Change Mitigation

KBFU scientists studied the carbon balance at the “Rosyanka” Carbon Measurement Supersite between 2021 and 2023. The findings show that the disturbance of peat deposits at drained wetlands leads to significant carbon losses through four main components: CO2 emissions from aboveground woody plants, herb-moss vegetation and soil respiration, CH4 emission from surface peat, and dissolved organic carbon flux from drained peat layers. The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.

The largest proportion of carbon losses is due to soil-atmosphere carbon dioxide fluxes (over 60%) and its emission from aboveground woody plants (about 30%), the other two sources account for about 2% of the total loss. The largest CO2 production was measured in areas subjected to fire, as well as areas dominated by a large amount of annual plants. The lowest emission levels and the highest rates of carbon sequestration (in some periods) were observed in sphagnum dominated wet sites.

The total annual carbon flux from the entire study area averages 5 tonnes per hectare, but its intensity varies seasonally: the emissions at the soil-atmosphere interface are highest during the summer time, while the flux from the woody layer increases in autumn, and the dissolved organic carbon flux shows a marked peak in early spring.

Abandoned peat mines are complex areas with a combination of natural and anthropogenically modified sites, with various magnitudes of greenhouse gas emissions recorded at different locations. Therefore, studies of such peatlands require a special approach.