CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE EMISSIONS FROM SIMULATED REWETTING OF FEN PEATLAND WITH DIFFERENT COMPOSITION OF VEGETATION COVER

Currently, environmental rehabilitation of peat deposits that have been retired from commercial operation is recommended at the legislative level for all business entities. However, in the first year after rewetting, increased emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are observed due to rotting and decomposition of waterless valley vegetation. In this regard, a number of experiments were performed in the laboratory to determine the contribution to greenhouse gas fluxes due to the decomposition of dry meadow grasses, Juncus communis and canary reed. It has been established that the removal of the upper root layer of peat during the implementation of measures for the environmental rehabilitation of a peatland with a predominance of meadow grasses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.5–5.8 times, with a predominance of a spreading Juncus communis – by 11.8–21.9 times, and with a dominant species of reed canary – by 8.1–13.7 times.