Ecosystem Fluxes from Natural and Degraded Tropical Mountain Peatlands in Colombia

Tropical peatlands contain large amounts of carbon (C) and are relatively understudied compared to higher latitude peatlands. South America contains a large percentage of global tropical peatland area (24%) and features both high and low elevation peatlands. Tropical mountain peatlands are found throughout the Andean mountain range and feature large pools of carbon. Historically, human activity has often led to degradation of peatlands which has long term impacts on their hydrology as well as C cycling. Specifically, tropical mountain peatlands in the Andes are often drained using ditches and used for ruminant grazing or agricultural fields, which leads to carbon release and a reduction in the size of carbon stores. There is a general lack of observational data for C cycling dynamics in these ecosystems, as well as a lack of understanding of how human alterations impact these dynamics over time. We established two eddy covariance (EC) towers in a paired design to measure ecosystem fluxes in a natural and degraded mountain peatland near Bogota, Colombia. In addition to the EC towers, we also regularly measure chamber fluxes within the footprint of each tower. Our aim is to collect baseline data to monitor the carbon cycles of these systems in their current state, and then to perform restoration to the degraded peatland to evaluate the impact of the restoration on site hydrology and C cycling. Of particular interest are the balance between carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake and methane (CH4) emissions and how these fluxes differ due to changes in environmental conditions between the wet and dry seasons. Here we present preliminary flux results from the towers and chambers on both the natural and degraded peatland sites.