Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Rapid mid-winter and early spring warming events are emerging as a key but under-recognized driver of carbon loss from cold-region ecosystems. In mountain peatlands, their influence remains largely unknown. Here, we quantify the impact of chinook wind events—warm, dry downslope winds that can raise air temperatures by over 20 °C within hours—on ecosystem respiration in a montane peatland on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. Using eddy covariance carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux measurements and meteorological data, 13 chinook events were identified between February and May 2021 and segmented each into pre- , during- , and post -event phases. A generalized additive mixed model accounting for temporal autocorrelation showed that CO 2 emission rates increased significantly during chinook events and remained elevated afterward. CO 2 emissions during snow-covered events in February-April were most likely driven by physical degassing from melting snow and thawing surface peat, whereas snow-free events in April and May likely reflected enhanced microbial activity in thawing peat. Our findings demonstrate that regularly occurring cold-season warming events can trigger substantial but short-lived CO 2 releases from mountain peatlands, revealing a climate-sensitive carbon loss pathway likely to intensify as snowpack duration shortens and freeze-thaw regimes shift in mountain regions world-wide.
Source: Scientific Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Climate action, Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
OpenAlex ID: W7160693279
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