Cutover peatlands: A persistent source of atmospheric CO2

Peatlands represent an important component of the global carbon cycle, storing 23 g C m −2 yr −1 . Peatland mining eliminates the carbon sink function of the peatland. In this paper we measure the total ecosystem respiration in a natural, 2 and 3 year (young) and 7 and 8 year (old) postcutover peatland near Sainte‐Marguerite‐Marie, Québec, during the summers of 1998 and 1999. Although the natural site was a source of CO 2 during the dry 1998 …