Mechanisms behind species-specific water economy responses to water level drawdown in peat mosses.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND AND AIMS:The ecosystem engineers Sphagnum (peat mosses) are responsible for sequestering a large proportion of carbon in northern peatlands. Species may respond differently to hydrological changes, and water level changes may lead to vegetation shifts in peatlands, causing them to revert from sinks to sources of carbon. We aimed to compare species-specific responses to water level drawdown within Sphagnum, and investigate which traits affect water economy in this genus. METHODS:In a mesocosm experiment, we investigated how water level drawdown affected water content (WC) in the photosynthetically active apex of the moss and maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (i.e. Fv/Fm) of 13 Sphagnum species. Structural traits were measured, and eight anatomical traits were quantified fro

SUBMITTER: Bengtsson F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7523593 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature