Shifting environmental controls on CH4 fluxes in a sub-boreal peatland

We monitored CO2 and CH4 fluxes using eddy covariance from 19 May to 27 September 2011 in a poor fen located in northern Michigan. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) quantify the flux of CH4 from a sub-boreal peatland, and (2) determine which abiotic and biotic factors were the most correlated to the flux of CH4 over the measurement period. Net daily CH4 fluxes increased from 70 mg m−2 d−1 to 220 mg m−2 d−1 from mid May to mid July. After July, CH4 losses steadily declined to approximately 50 mg m−2 d−1 in late September. During the study period, the peatland lost 17.4 g CH4 m−2. Both abiotic and biotic variables were correlated with changes in CH4 flux. When the different variables were analyzed together, the preferred model included mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm, daily net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and the interaction between mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm and NEE (R2 = 0.47, p value 4 flux changed in conjunction with changes in daily NEE. On days when daily NEE was negative, 25% of the CH4 flux could be explained by changes in NEE, however on days when daily NEE was positive, there was no correlation between daily NEE and the CH4 flux. In contrast, daily mean soil temperature at 20 cm was poorly correlated to changes in CH4 when NEE was negative (17%), but the correlation increased to 34% when NEE was positive. The interaction between daily NEE and mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm indicates shifting environmental controls on the CH4 flux throughout the growing season.