Impacts of Changing Hydrology on Wetland Carbon Fate
Fen in boreal Alaska. Photo credit: J. Bowen
Increased flooding of boreal fens
Rich fens are a major wetland type present at boreal latitudes, and collectively serve as globally important carbon sink and methane emitter. Changes in climate have impacted the extent and duration of flooding in fens (left), which has uncertain implications for these carbon fluxes with the atmosphere.
Our group is currently working at the Alaska Peatland Experiment (APEX) site to investigate physical and chemical controls on changing carbon fluxes from flooded fens.
Collaboration with: Catherine Dieleman (Univ. Guelph), Evan Kane (MTU), Jason Keller (CMC), and Cassandra Zalman (Chapman)
Clery* et al (2026). Controls on DOC photomineralization in a flooded boreal peatland. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Riggs* et al (2026). Controls on carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from a flooded boreal fen. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
Drainage of tropical peat swamps
Widespread deforestation and drainage of peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia has resulted in enhanced lateral export of carbon to freshwaters. However, the fate of carbon mobilized to drainage canals (right) directly remains poorly understood.
To address this gap, we have investigated the reactivity and fate of organic carbon exported to canals in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Ongoing work in our group is focused on the controls on carbon dioxide emission versus downstream export.
Collaboration with: Gusti Anshari (Tanjungpura Univ.), Alison Hoyt (Stanford), Nisa Novita (TNC/YKAN), and Sally MacIntyre (UCSB)
Sharma* et al (2026). Controls on gas transfer velocities of carbon dioxide from tropical peatland canals. Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium, Atlanta, GA.
Cancelada, Bowen et al (2026). Enhancing molecular change: Fe-mediated photochemistry increases DOM transformation in tropical peatland canals. Environmental Science & Technology, 60 (31).
Bowen et al (2024). Canal networks regulate aquatic losses of carbon from degraded tropical peatlands. Nature Geoscience, 7, 213-218.
Intact versus drained peatland in Indoensia.
Photo credit: Y. Andriyani (left) and J. Bowen (right)