Carbon fluxes of an alpine peatland in Northern Italy

During the study period, the peatland experienced a high interannual variation in weather conditions while it acted as a carbon source based on CO2 emissions (NEE: 180.7 ± 65.2 g CCO2 m−2 yr−1) for all three years. This was mainly due to the short net C uptake period (73 ± 7 days) and high respiration. Ecosystem respiration and summer gross primary production were both very high compared to other peatlands around the world and compared to a nearby low productive grassland. In wintertime, the soil did not freeze, resulting in a slow decomposition of the organic matter. Low methane fluxes were recorded during a 10-month measurement campaign, for a total of 3.2 g CCH4 m−2 over the December 2013-September 2014 period. Our findings suggest that the interannual variability of temperature and soil water content exert a strong influence on the carbon balance of peatlands of the Alps and that could further worsen depending upon the magnitude of climate change.