Dhiraj Paul

Abstract As permafrost in the Arctic thaws due to global warming, emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a powerful greenhouse gas, may rise—yet its dynamics in permafrost peatlands remain poorly understood. Here we present 1,487 chamber measurements of N2O fluxes collected over three snow-free seasons in a subarctic thawing permafrost peatland. Measurements were taken under both light (with sunlight) and dark (without sunlight) conditions.

1 Introduction Covering about 30% of the global forest area, boreal forests are important carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) reservoirs (Gauthier et al. 2015). In Finland, where this study was conducted, forests cover about 26 million hectares, with Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H.Karst., 1881) being one of the major tree species and providing canopy habitats for epiphytic lichens (Korhonen et al. 2021). Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a significant greenhouse gas and an ozone-depleting substance.

New Results doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.09.539975 Abstract The boreal spruce forest soil can assimilate atmospheric N2O through symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizae or with bacteria, especially during spring and autumn, when aerobic microsites to soil can form.