Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO2 and warming

Quan Quan; Jian Zhou; Paul Hanson; Daniel Ricciuto; Stephen D. Sebestyen; David J. Weston; Jeffrey P. Chanton; Rachel M. Wilson; Joel E. Kostka; Yu Zhou; Ning Wei; Lifen Jiang; Melanie A. Mayes; Jonathan M. Stelling; Andrew D. Richardson; Mirindi Eric Dusenge; Danielle Way; Jeffrey M. Warren; Yiqi Luo

doi:10.1126/science.adv7104

Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO₂ and warming

Quan Quan
, Jian Zhou
, Paul Hanson
, Daniel Ricciuto
, Stephen D. Sebestyen
, David J. Weston
, Jeffrey P. Chanton
, Rachel M. Wilson
, Joel E. Kostka
, Yu Zhou
, Ning Wei
, Lifen Jiang
, Melanie A. Mayes
, Jonathan M. Stelling
, Andrew D. Richardson
, Mirindi Eric Dusenge
, Danielle Way
, Jeffrey M. Warren
, Yiqi Luo

AI-LEAF: Land, Economy, Agriculture & Forestry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

extreme drought events are predicted to increase with climate change, yet their impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics under warming and elevated carbon dioxide (ecO₂) remain unclear. In a peatland experiment with five warming treatments each under ambient carbon dioxide (acO₂) and ecO₂ (+500 parts per million), a 2-month extreme drought in 2021 reduced net ecosystem productivity by 444.0 ± 65.8 and 736.6 ± 57.8 grams of carbon per square meter at +9°c under acO₂ and ecO₂, respectively—228.6 ± 56.8% and 381.9 ± 83.4% of the reduction at +0°c under acO₂. this exacerbation was driven by warming-induced water table decline, prolonged low water tables, and cO₂-enhanced substrate availability through increased plant carbon inputs. Findings indicate that future climate will greatly amplify carbon loss during extreme drought, reinforcing positive carbon-climate feedbacks.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	367-370
Number of pages	4
Journal	Science
Volume	390
Issue number	6771
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv7104
State	Published - Oct 23 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2025 the authors, some rights reserved

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Journal Article

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10.1126/science.adv7104

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Cite this

Quan, Q., Zhou, J., Hanson, P., Ricciuto, D., Sebestyen, S. D., Weston, D. J., Chanton, J. P., Wilson, R. M., Kostka, J. E., Zhou, Y., Wei, N., Jiang, L., Mayes, M. A., Stelling, J. M., Richardson, A. D., Dusenge, M. E., Way, D., Warren, J. M., & Luo, Y. (2025). Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO₂ and warming. Science, 390(6771), 367-370. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv7104

Quan, Q, Zhou, J, Hanson, P, Ricciuto, D, Sebestyen, SD, Weston, DJ, Chanton, JP, Wilson, RM, Kostka, JE, Zhou, Y, Wei, N, Jiang, L, Mayes, MA, Stelling, JM, Richardson, AD, Dusenge, ME, Way, D, Warren, JM & Luo, Y 2025, 'Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO₂ and warming', Science, vol. 390, no. 6771, pp. 367-370. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv7104

@article{d6c6c6531b204d229505cfbd4db43e2a,

title = "Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO2 and warming",

abstract = "extreme drought events are predicted to increase with climate change, yet their impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics under warming and elevated carbon dioxide (ecO2) remain unclear. In a peatland experiment with five warming treatments each under ambient carbon dioxide (acO2) and ecO2 (+500 parts per million), a 2-month extreme drought in 2021 reduced net ecosystem productivity by 444.0 ± 65.8 and 736.6 ± 57.8 grams of carbon per square meter at +9°c under acO2 and ecO2, respectively—228.6 ± 56.8\% and 381.9 ± 83.4\% of the reduction at +0°c under acO2. this exacerbation was driven by warming-induced water table decline, prolonged low water tables, and cO2-enhanced substrate availability through increased plant carbon inputs. Findings indicate that future climate will greatly amplify carbon loss during extreme drought, reinforcing positive carbon-climate feedbacks.",

author = "Quan Quan and Jian Zhou and Paul Hanson and Daniel Ricciuto and Sebestyen, \{Stephen D.\} and Weston, \{David J.\} and Chanton, \{Jeffrey P.\} and Wilson, \{Rachel M.\} and Kostka, \{Joel E.\} and Yu Zhou and Ning Wei and Lifen Jiang and Mayes, \{Melanie A.\} and Stelling, \{Jonathan M.\} and Richardson, \{Andrew D.\} and Dusenge, \{Mirindi Eric\} and Danielle Way and Warren, \{Jeffrey M.\} and Yiqi Luo",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2025 the authors, some rights reserved",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1126/science.adv7104",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "390",

pages = "367--370",

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T1 - Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO2 and warming

AU - Quan, Quan

AU - Zhou, Jian

AU - Hanson, Paul

AU - Ricciuto, Daniel

AU - Sebestyen, Stephen D.

AU - Weston, David J.

AU - Chanton, Jeffrey P.

AU - Wilson, Rachel M.

AU - Kostka, Joel E.

AU - Zhou, Yu

AU - Wei, Ning

AU - Jiang, Lifen

AU - Mayes, Melanie A.

AU - Stelling, Jonathan M.

AU - Richardson, Andrew D.

AU - Dusenge, Mirindi Eric

AU - Way, Danielle

AU - Warren, Jeffrey M.

AU - Luo, Yiqi

PY - 2025/10/23

Y1 - 2025/10/23

N2 - extreme drought events are predicted to increase with climate change, yet their impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics under warming and elevated carbon dioxide (ecO2) remain unclear. In a peatland experiment with five warming treatments each under ambient carbon dioxide (acO2) and ecO2 (+500 parts per million), a 2-month extreme drought in 2021 reduced net ecosystem productivity by 444.0 ± 65.8 and 736.6 ± 57.8 grams of carbon per square meter at +9°c under acO2 and ecO2, respectively—228.6 ± 56.8% and 381.9 ± 83.4% of the reduction at +0°c under acO2. this exacerbation was driven by warming-induced water table decline, prolonged low water tables, and cO2-enhanced substrate availability through increased plant carbon inputs. Findings indicate that future climate will greatly amplify carbon loss during extreme drought, reinforcing positive carbon-climate feedbacks.

AB - extreme drought events are predicted to increase with climate change, yet their impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics under warming and elevated carbon dioxide (ecO2) remain unclear. In a peatland experiment with five warming treatments each under ambient carbon dioxide (acO2) and ecO2 (+500 parts per million), a 2-month extreme drought in 2021 reduced net ecosystem productivity by 444.0 ± 65.8 and 736.6 ± 57.8 grams of carbon per square meter at +9°c under acO2 and ecO2, respectively—228.6 ± 56.8% and 381.9 ± 83.4% of the reduction at +0°c under acO2. this exacerbation was driven by warming-induced water table decline, prolonged low water tables, and cO2-enhanced substrate availability through increased plant carbon inputs. Findings indicate that future climate will greatly amplify carbon loss during extreme drought, reinforcing positive carbon-climate feedbacks.

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