Permafrost peatlands are found across the permafrost region. While the dominant landforms of permafrost peatlands vary, these fragile ecosystems have acted as natural sinks for atmospheric carbon for millennia and store a globally significant portion of the terrestrial soil organic carbon pool. Intact permafrost peatlands are vital components of the northern hydrological system, regulating local water levels through interactions with both groundwater and surface water networks, storing water and dampening hydrologic responses, and acting as sources of organic matter and potential contaminants for aquatic ecosystems. They provide key habitats for birds, mammals, and highly biodiverse vegetation. As a result, permafrost peatlands provide key ecosystem services, including the provision of traditional medicines, food, and drinking water for indigenous and local communities. Warming temperatures have recently driven widespread permafrost thaw and thermokarst formation, transforming these peatlands and causing drastic shifts in their biogeochemistry, hydrology, ecology, and morphology. Model projections indicate that within decades permafrost peatlands across the northern circumpolar permafrost region are likely to undergo rapid changes resulting from thaw, with complete permafrost losses likely to occur in the southernmost regions of this bioclimatic envelope. Establishing the response trajectories of these ecosystems to climate warming is critical for accurately projecting future environmental change.
The goal of this session is to facilitate interdisciplinary discussion on the dynamics of permafrost peatlands under a rapidly changing climate, and to explore the mechanisms driving change in these ecosystems. To achieve this, we encourage submissions across disciplines related to permafrost peatlands, using a wide range of methods such as field observation, palaeoecology, laboratory experiments, modelling and simulations, remote sensing, and data synthesis and analysis. We particularly encourage studies on 1) carbon and nutrient biogeochemical cycling (including stocks, fluxes, and upscaling efforts), 2) export of carbon, nutrients, and contaminants and their impact on aquatic ecosystems, 3) records illustrating thaw-related changes to hydrology and vegetation, 4) remote sensing methods for detecting changes, 5) the impact of disturbances (both natural and anthropogenic), and 6) the impact of a changing permafrost peatland landscape on northern communities.