Name
Using the Canadian Model for Peatlands (CaMP) to understand spatial and temporal trends in peatland-carbon sink strength across Canada's Boreal
Date & Time
Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Description
The Canadian Model for Peatlands (CaMP) is a site to national level model developed to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and removals from a range of peatland types across Canada. CaMP is a module that works in-tandem with the Generic Carbon Budget Model (GCBM), a new open-source, spatially-explicit carbon (C) dynamics model designed to eventually replace the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) that is currently used to estimate and report on GHG emissions from management and land-use change in Canada�s forests. In this study CaMP (v.2.1) was used to simulate 63.9 million hectares of boreal peatlands in non-permafrost regions between 1990 and 2019. We examined GHG emission and removal estimates to determine if Canadian inland, organic wetlands continue to act as a strong net C sink, and the role of interannual variation of climate parameters in controlling heterotrophic respiration, and annual burned area have had on the GHG balance over recent decades. On average within the national area of interest, the CaMP estimated peatlands to be a source of greenhouse gases (including CO2, CH4, CO and N2O) to the atmosphere when converted to carbon dioxide equivalents. There were differences across boreal ecozones in C sequestration rates and within certain peatland types, a shift from a moderate C sink to a source can occur in ecoregions where fire is a key disturbance. This study highlights significant uncertainties and underscores the need for synthesis of ground-based measurements of GHG emissions and removals from different peatland types across Canada.
Location Name
Maple
Full Address
Banff Park Lodge Resort Hotel & Conference Centre
201 Lynx St
Banff AB T1L 1K5
Canada
Abstract
The Canadian Model for Peatlands (CaMP) is a site to national level model developed to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and removals from a range of peatland types across Canada. CaMP is a module that works in-tandem with the Generic Carbon Budget Model (GCBM), a new open-source, spatially-explicit carbon (C) dynamics model designed to eventually replace the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) that is currently used to estimate and report on GHG emissions from management and land-use change in Canada�s forests. In this study CaMP (v.2.1) was used to simulate 63.9 million hectares of boreal peatlands in non-permafrost regions between 1990 and 2019. We examined GHG emission and removal estimates to determine if Canadian inland, organic wetlands continue to act as a strong net C sink, and the role of interannual variation of climate parameters in controlling heterotrophic respiration, and annual burned area have had on the GHG balance over recent decades. On average within the national area of interest, the CaMP estimated peatlands to be a source of greenhouse gases (including CO2, CH4, CO and N2O) to the atmosphere when converted to carbon dioxide equivalents. There were differences across boreal ecozones in C sequestration rates and within certain peatland types, a shift from a moderate C sink to a source can occur in ecoregions where fire is a key disturbance. This study highlights significant uncertainties and underscores the need for synthesis of ground-based measurements of GHG emissions and removals from different peatland types across Canada.
Session Type
Breakout Session