Project leader: Prof. Dr. Gerald Jurasinski (University of Greifswald)

In B1 we investigate the drivers of GHG exchange in rewetted fens and provide data for process-based modeling of C turnover. We combine GHG exchange measurements (CO2 and CH4) at Core Sites (mainly Eddy Covariance (EC) measurements, closed chamber measurements at selected sites), Screening Sites (short term, campaign-based chamber measurements in combination with lab incubations of sampled topsoil peat) and mesocosm experiments (automated chamber measurements of CO2, CH4, N2O) with a wealth of additionally recorded variables provided by the interdisciplinary collaboration. EC based evapotranspiration rates are fed into process-based hydrological models (C1) through analysis by S3. We use low-cost sensors for measuring CH4 and CO2 exchange in screening campaigns on a large number of sites and investigate iron turnover as a proxy for decomposition of organic matter in a subset of Screening Sites with an in-situ incubation approach.

The GHG exchange measurements in B1 are embedded in a growing network of GHG measurement sites on rewetted peatlands. Since rewetted peatlands have to be understood as novel ecosystems (Kreyling et al. 2021), it is important to accompany peatland rewetting and restoration projects with extensive monitoring. The innovation in WETSCAPES2.0 lays in the focus on interdisciplinary analyses of the data, including many variables that are not available in standard monitoring projects where the production of reliable GHG balances is the main focus. Here, in contrast, we focus on fostering our understanding of processes in the biogeochemical cycling of C. This approach, which is only possible in such a broad collaborative project with in-depth expertise in many critical fields of science like microbiology, biogeochemistry, experimental plant ecology, hydrology, and associated modelling, is unique and promises real breakthroughs in our understanding of rewetted peatlands as novel ecosystems.