Scaling net ecosystem CO₂ exchange from the community to landscape-level at a subarctic fen

Landscape- and community-level CO₂ measurements were made at a subarctic sedge fen near Churchill Manitoba during the 1997 growing season. Climatic conditions were warmer and drier than the 30-y normal. Landscape-scale micrometeorological measurements indicated that the wetland gained 49 g CO₂ m^-2 during the growing season. Chamber-scale measurements from the main vegetation community types showed that small hummocks (Carex spp. sites) dominated the CO₂ exchange, yielding an effective scaling factor of 70%. Scaled parameters of two algorithms describing photo-synthesis and respiration for each community type show strong similarity to those derived at the landscape level. Scaling photosynthesis, respiration, and net ecosystem CO₂ exchange from the community to landscape-level over the season is within the maximum probable error of each methodological approach and helps substantiate the 1997 CO₂ budget. We explore the equilibrium response of net ecosystem CO₂ exchange of this fen to climatic change by examining the feedback of water table position on vegetation distribution and nitrogen availability. Based on the effective scaling factors computed for each community type, we hypothesize that a small decrease in mean water table position could nearly triple the net uptake of CO₂ at this wetland.