%0 Research Notes
%T Vegetation and CO2 balance in an abandoned harvested peatland in Aitoneva, southern Finland
%A Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina
%A Komulainen, Veli-Matti
%D 1995
%J Suo - Mires and peat
%V 46
%N 3
%U http://suo.fi/article/9749
%X The vegetation and CO2 balance (difference between C02 fixation rate and respiration rate) in an abandoned harvested peatland in Aitoneva, Kihnio (62° 12'N, 23° 18'E) were studied during the summer of 1994. The daytime CO2 fluxes from sample plots representing different kinds of vegetation were measured using two different static chamber techniques. To investigate the compositional variation of vegetation and its relationship with CO2 balance, data on the vegetation of the sample plots was analysed by global non-metric multidimensional scaling (GNMDS). A total number of 20 plant species was observed on the sample plots. The dominant plant species was Eriophorum vaginatum L. The main variation in GNMDS were connected with colonization stage (total cover of vegetation). The C02 fixation rate varied between -56 and 1869 mg m-2 h-1 and the respiration rate varied between 34 and 1168 mg CO2 m-2 h-1. The CO2 fixation and respiration rate increased with increasing total vegetation cover. The highest respiration and the highest CO2 fixation rates were found in sample plots dominated by mature Eriophorum vaginatum tussocks. Those sample plots were the only ones having positive CO2 balance. Regression analysis indicated that the respiration rate depended on soil temperature. Variation in the water table had no influence on the respiration or the C02 fixation rate.

Key words: CO2 balance, Eriophorum vaginatum, GNMDS, harvested peatland, plant colonization