Moisture controls on CO2 exchange in a Sphagnum‐dominated peatland: results from an extreme drought field experiment

Abstract Peatlands store globally significant quantities of soil carbon, and Sphagnum moss is the main peat forming vegetation type in bogs. Sphagnum moss productivity is driven by the moisture content of its apical cluster of branches, the capitulum. Capitulum moisture content is dependent on the arrangement of leaves, branches and stems for a given species and also on hydrological conditions of the underlying peat. Despite this link, the …