Elevated CO(2) mitigated warming-enhanced carbon loss from northern peatland.

Warming of northern peatlands under ambient CO2 increases carbon loss by 62.6 g C m-2 year-1 °C-1, reaching 476.5 ± 104.7 g C m-2 year-1 at +9°C.

• Why it matters: Peatlands hold one-third of global soil carbon yet may shift to carbon sources as warming accelerates carbon loss, but the combined role of elevated CO2 is unclear.
• What they did: Using model-guided synthesis of 18 measured variables across 10 CO2–warming treatments (+0° to +9°C; ambient vs eCO2 at +500 ppm), they quantified carbon fate and methane responses.
• The result: Elevated CO2 reduced the warming-enhanced carbon loss rate to 17.3 g C m-2 year-1 °C-1, with loss at +9°C dropping to 269.4 ± 80.5 g C m-2 year-1, while methane rose with warming under both CO2 levels.

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