Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

Yannick Garcin; Enno Schefuss; Greta C. Dargie; Donna Hawthorne; Ian T. Lawson; David Sebag; George E. Biddulph; Bart Crezee; Yannick E. Bocko; Suspense A. Ifo; Y. Emmanuel Mampouya Wenina; Mackline Mbemba; Corneille E. N. Ewango; Ovide Emba; Pierre Bola; Joseph Kanyama Tabu; Genevieve Tyrrell; Dylan M. Young; Ghislain Gassier; Nicholas T. Girkin; Christopher H. Vane; Thierry Adatte; Andy J. Baird; Arnoud Boom; Pauline Gulliver; Paul J. Morris; Susan E. Page; Sofie Sjogersten; Simon L. Lewis

doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

Yannick Garcin^*, Enno Schefuss^*, Greta C. Dargie^*, Donna Hawthorne, Ian T. Lawson, David Sebag, George E. Biddulph, Bart Crezee, Yannick E. Bocko, Suspense A. Ifo, Y. Emmanuel Mampouya Wenina, Mackline Mbemba, Corneille E. N. Ewango, Ovide Emba, Pierre Bola, Joseph Kanyama Tabu, Genevieve Tyrrell, Dylan M. Young, Ghislain Gassier, Nicholas T. GirkinChristopher H. Vane, Thierry Adatte, Andy J. Baird, Arnoud Boom, Pauline Gulliver, Paul J. Morris, Susan E. Page, Sofie Sjogersten, Simon L. Lewis^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approx. 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat^1,2. Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large interfluvial basin in the Republic of the Congo and palaeoenvironmental methods. We find that peat accumulation began at least at 17,500 calibrated years before present (cal. yr BP; taken as AD 1950). Our data show that the peat that accumulated between around 7,500 to around 2,000 cal. yr BP is much more decomposed compared with older and younger peat. Hydrogen isotopes of plant waxes indicate a drying trend, starting at approx. 5,000 cal. yr BP and culminating at approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, coeval with a decline in dominant swamp forest taxa. The data imply that the drying climate probably resulted in a regional drop in the water table, which triggered peat decomposition, including the loss of peat carbon accumulated prior to the onset of the drier conditions. After approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, our data show that the drying trend ceased, hydrologic conditions stabilized and peat accumulation resumed. This reversible accumulation-loss-accumulation pattern is consistent with other peat cores across the region, indicating that the carbon stocks of the central Congo peatlands may lie close to a climatically driven drought threshold. Further research should quantify the combination of peatland threshold behavior and droughts driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions that may trigger this positive carbon cycle feedback in the Earth system.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	277-282
Number of pages	6
Journal	Nature
Volume	612
Issue number	7939
Early online date	2 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3
Publication status	Published - 8 Dec 2022

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Garcin_2022_Nature_Hydroclimatic-vulneranility_CC
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Final published version, 9.03 MBLicence: CC BY

CongoPeat: CongoPeat: Past, present and future of the peatlands of the central Congo basin
Lawson, I. T. (PI)
1/09/18 → 31/08/23
Project: Standard

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin: codes for age-depth models, geospatial data processing and analysis
Garcin, Y. (Creator), Schefuß, E. (Creator), Dargie, G. C. (Creator), Hawthorne, D. (Creator), Lawson, I. T. (Creator), Sebag, D. (Creator), Biddulph, G. E. (Creator), Crezee, B. (Creator), Bocko, Y. E. (Creator), Ifo, S. A. (Creator), Mampouya Wenina, Y. E. (Creator), Mbemba, M. (Creator), Ewango, C. E. N. (Creator), Emba, O. (Creator), Bola, P. (Creator), Kanyama Tabu, J. (Creator), Tyrrell, G. (Creator), Young, D. M. (Creator), Gassier, G. (Creator), Girkin, N. T. (Creator), Vane, C. H. (Creator), Adatte, T. (Creator), Baird, A. J. (Creator), Boom, A. (Creator), Gulliver, P. (Creator), Morris, P. J. (Creator), Page, S. E. (Creator), Sjögersten, S. (Creator), Lewis, S. L. (Creator), Garcin, Y. (Contributor) & Gassier, G. (Contributor), DataSuds, 2022
DOI: 10.23708/fo2hgm
Dataset

Cite this

Garcin, Y., Schefuss, E., Dargie, G. C., Hawthorne, D., Lawson, I. T., Sebag, D., Biddulph, G. E., Crezee, B., Bocko, Y. E., Ifo, S. A., Mampouya Wenina, Y. E., Mbemba, M., Ewango, C. E. N., Emba, O., Bola, P., Kanyama Tabu, J., Tyrrell, G., Young, D. M., Gassier, G., ... Lewis, S. L. (2022). Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin. Nature, 612(7939), 277-282. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

@article{0e2c22085a9c4e9a9cfd07a14720f171,

title = "Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin",

abstract = "The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approx. 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat1,2. Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large interfluvial basin in the Republic of the Congo and palaeoenvironmental methods. We find that peat accumulation began at least at 17,500 calibrated years before present (cal. yr BP; taken as AD 1950). Our data show that the peat that accumulated between around 7,500 to around 2,000 cal. yr BP is much more decomposed compared with older and younger peat. Hydrogen isotopes of plant waxes indicate a drying trend, starting at approx. 5,000 cal. yr BP and culminating at approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, coeval with a decline in dominant swamp forest taxa. The data imply that the drying climate probably resulted in a regional drop in the water table, which triggered peat decomposition, including the loss of peat carbon accumulated prior to the onset of the drier conditions. After approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, our data show that the drying trend ceased, hydrologic conditions stabilized and peat accumulation resumed. This reversible accumulation-loss-accumulation pattern is consistent with other peat cores across the region, indicating that the carbon stocks of the central Congo peatlands may lie close to a climatically driven drought threshold. Further research should quantify the combination of peatland threshold behavior and droughts driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions that may trigger this positive carbon cycle feedback in the Earth system.",

author = "Yannick Garcin and Enno Schefuss and Dargie, {Greta C.} and Donna Hawthorne and Lawson, {Ian T.} and David Sebag and Biddulph, {George E.} and Bart Crezee and Bocko, {Yannick E.} and Ifo, {Suspense A.} and {Mampouya Wenina}, {Y. Emmanuel} and Mackline Mbemba and Ewango, {Corneille E. N.} and Ovide Emba and Pierre Bola and {Kanyama Tabu}, Joseph and Genevieve Tyrrell and Young, {Dylan M.} and Ghislain Gassier and Girkin, {Nicholas T.} and Vane, {Christopher H.} and Thierry Adatte and Baird, {Andy J.} and Arnoud Boom and Pauline Gulliver and Morris, {Paul J.} and Page, {Susan E.} and Sofie Sjogersten and Lewis, {Simon L.}",

note = "Funding: This work was funded by CongoPeat—a NERC large grant (NE/R016860/1) to S.L.L., I.T.L., S.E.P., A.B., A.J.B., P.J.M., P.G. and S.S. Natural Environment Research Council (CASE award to S.L.L. and G.C.D.), Leeds–York NERC Doctoral Training Partnership ({\textquoteleft}SPHERES{\textquoteright}) award to B.C. (NE/L002574/1), NERC Radiocarbon Facility NRCF010001 (alloc. no. 1688.0313, 1797.0414, 2222.1119, 14.108 and 2329.0920 to I.T.L., S.L.L., G.E.B., B.C., P.G. and G.C.D.), Wildlife Conservation Society – Congo (to G.C.D.), the Royal Society (to S.L.L.), Philip Leverhulme Prize (to S.L.L.), and a Greenpeace Fund award (to S.L.L.). E.S. was supported by the DFG–Cluster of Excellence {\textquoteleft}The Ocean in the Earth System{\textquoteright} at MARUM. C.H.V. publishes with permission of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey, UKRI. ",

year = "2022",

month = dec,

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doi = "10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3",

language = "English",

volume = "612",

pages = "277--282",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "1476-4687",

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Garcin, Y, Schefuss, E, Dargie, GC, Hawthorne, D, Lawson, IT, Sebag, D, Biddulph, GE, Crezee, B, Bocko, YE, Ifo, SA, Mampouya Wenina, YE, Mbemba, M, Ewango, CEN, Emba, O, Bola, P, Kanyama Tabu, J, Tyrrell, G, Young, DM, Gassier, G, Girkin, NT, Vane, CH, Adatte, T, Baird, AJ, Boom, A, Gulliver, P, Morris, PJ, Page, SE, Sjogersten, S & Lewis, SL 2022, 'Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin', Nature, vol. 612, no. 7939, pp. 277-282. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

AU - Garcin, Yannick

AU - Schefuss, Enno

AU - Dargie, Greta C.

AU - Hawthorne, Donna

AU - Lawson, Ian T.

AU - Sebag, David

AU - Biddulph, George E.

AU - Crezee, Bart

AU - Bocko, Yannick E.

AU - Ifo, Suspense A.

AU - Mampouya Wenina, Y. Emmanuel

AU - Mbemba, Mackline

AU - Ewango, Corneille E. N.

AU - Emba, Ovide

AU - Bola, Pierre

AU - Kanyama Tabu, Joseph

AU - Tyrrell, Genevieve

AU - Young, Dylan M.

AU - Gassier, Ghislain

AU - Girkin, Nicholas T.

AU - Vane, Christopher H.

AU - Adatte, Thierry

AU - Baird, Andy J.

AU - Boom, Arnoud

AU - Gulliver, Pauline

AU - Morris, Paul J.

AU - Page, Susan E.

AU - Sjogersten, Sofie

AU - Lewis, Simon L.

N1 - Funding: This work was funded by CongoPeat—a NERC large grant (NE/R016860/1) to S.L.L., I.T.L., S.E.P., A.B., A.J.B., P.J.M., P.G. and S.S. Natural Environment Research Council (CASE award to S.L.L. and G.C.D.), Leeds–York NERC Doctoral Training Partnership (‘SPHERES’) award to B.C. (NE/L002574/1), NERC Radiocarbon Facility NRCF010001 (alloc. no. 1688.0313, 1797.0414, 2222.1119, 14.108 and 2329.0920 to I.T.L., S.L.L., G.E.B., B.C., P.G. and G.C.D.), Wildlife Conservation Society – Congo (to G.C.D.), the Royal Society (to S.L.L.), Philip Leverhulme Prize (to S.L.L.), and a Greenpeace Fund award (to S.L.L.). E.S. was supported by the DFG–Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System’ at MARUM. C.H.V. publishes with permission of the Executive Director of the British Geological Survey, UKRI.

PY - 2022/12/8

Y1 - 2022/12/8

N2 - The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approx. 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat1,2. Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large interfluvial basin in the Republic of the Congo and palaeoenvironmental methods. We find that peat accumulation began at least at 17,500 calibrated years before present (cal. yr BP; taken as AD 1950). Our data show that the peat that accumulated between around 7,500 to around 2,000 cal. yr BP is much more decomposed compared with older and younger peat. Hydrogen isotopes of plant waxes indicate a drying trend, starting at approx. 5,000 cal. yr BP and culminating at approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, coeval with a decline in dominant swamp forest taxa. The data imply that the drying climate probably resulted in a regional drop in the water table, which triggered peat decomposition, including the loss of peat carbon accumulated prior to the onset of the drier conditions. After approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, our data show that the drying trend ceased, hydrologic conditions stabilized and peat accumulation resumed. This reversible accumulation-loss-accumulation pattern is consistent with other peat cores across the region, indicating that the carbon stocks of the central Congo peatlands may lie close to a climatically driven drought threshold. Further research should quantify the combination of peatland threshold behavior and droughts driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions that may trigger this positive carbon cycle feedback in the Earth system.

AB - The forested swamps of the central Congo Basin store approx. 30 billion metric tonnes of carbon in peat1,2. Little is known about the vulnerability of these carbon stocks. Here we investigate this vulnerability using peat cores from a large interfluvial basin in the Republic of the Congo and palaeoenvironmental methods. We find that peat accumulation began at least at 17,500 calibrated years before present (cal. yr BP; taken as AD 1950). Our data show that the peat that accumulated between around 7,500 to around 2,000 cal. yr BP is much more decomposed compared with older and younger peat. Hydrogen isotopes of plant waxes indicate a drying trend, starting at approx. 5,000 cal. yr BP and culminating at approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, coeval with a decline in dominant swamp forest taxa. The data imply that the drying climate probably resulted in a regional drop in the water table, which triggered peat decomposition, including the loss of peat carbon accumulated prior to the onset of the drier conditions. After approx. 2,000 cal. yr BP, our data show that the drying trend ceased, hydrologic conditions stabilized and peat accumulation resumed. This reversible accumulation-loss-accumulation pattern is consistent with other peat cores across the region, indicating that the carbon stocks of the central Congo peatlands may lie close to a climatically driven drought threshold. Further research should quantify the combination of peatland threshold behavior and droughts driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions that may trigger this positive carbon cycle feedback in the Earth system.

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

DO - 10.1038/s41586-022-05389-3

M3 - Article

SN - 1476-4687

VL - 612

SP - 277

EP - 282

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7939

ER -

Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin

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CongoPeat: CongoPeat: Past, present and future of the peatlands of the central Congo basin

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Hydroclimatic vulnerability of peat carbon in the central Congo Basin: codes for age-depth models, geospatial data processing and analysis

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