Plant community dynamics and carbon sequestration in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in the era of global change

Aim: Hydroclimatic shift and anthropogenic-driven nitrogen deposition are major outcomes of global change that could compromise the functioning of many peatlands as a carbon sink. For Sphagnum-dominated peatlands, an emerging hypothesis is that the change could be triggered by shifts in competitive dominance among plant functional groups, specifically from the currently predominant decay-resistant Sphagnum to the more decomposable vascular plants. However, the relationship between Sphagnum and vascular plant occurrence is notably complex and also includes facilitative interactions that are crucial to the productivity of Sphagnum and therefore carbon sequestration. Location: Global Taxa: Northern peatlands—Sphagnum moss and vascular plants Methods: We use a conceptual review to examine underlying mechanisms for the competitive exclusion hypothesis and the nature of facilitative interactions between Sphagnum and vascular plants under the potential global change conditions. We com...研究目标：水文气候转变与人为驱动的氮沉降是全球变化的核心表现形式，二者或可损害诸多泥炭地作为碳汇（carbon sink）的生态功能。针对以泥炭藓（Sphagnum）为优势类群的泥炭地，一项新兴假说提出，全球变化的影响可由植物功能群间竞争优势的转变所触发——具体而言，即从当前占主导的抗分解泥炭藓，转向更易分解的维管植物（vascular plants）。然而，泥炭藓与维管植物的共存关系显著复杂，其中还包含对泥炭藓生产力乃至碳固存（carbon sequestration）至关重要的促进性相互作用。 研究区域：全球 研究类群：北方泥炭地——泥炭藓与维管植物 研究方法：本研究采用概念性综述方法，剖析竞争排除假说（competitive exclusion hypothesis）的内在作用机制，并探讨潜在全球变化情景下泥炭藓与维管植物间促进性相互作用的本质。本研究将...