Fluxes of nitrous oxide and methane from drained peatlands following forest clearfelling in southern Finland

Drainage of waterlogged sites has been part of the normal forestry practice in Fennoscandia, the Baltic countries, the British Isles and in some parts of Russia since the early 20th century, and currently, about 15 million hectares of peatlands and other wetlands have been drained for forestry purposes. The rate of forest clear-felling on drained peatlands will undergo a rapid increase in the near future, when a large number of these forests approach their regeneration age. A small-scale pilot survey was performed at two nutrient-rich and old peatland drainage areas in southern Finland to study if forest clear-felling has significant impacts on the exchange of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) between soil and atmosphere. The average N2O emissions from the two drainage areas during three growing seasons following clear-felling were 945 and 246 (mu)g m^–2 d^–1. The corresponding CH4 fluxes were -0.07 and -0.52 mg m^–2 d^–1. Clear-felling had impacts on the environmental factors known to affect the N2O and CH4 fluxes of peatlands, i.e. clear-felling raised the water table level and increased the peat temperature. However, no substantial changes in the fluxes of CH4 following clear-felling were observed. The results concerning N2O indicated a potential for increased emissions following clear-felling of drained peatland forests, but further studies are needed for a critical evaluation of the impacts of clear-felling on the fluxes of CH4 and N2O.