Long-term Dynamics and Contemporary Carbon Budget of Northern Peatlands

The workshop on Carbon Dynamics of Forested Peatlands: Knowledge Gaps, Uncertainty, and Modeling Approaches was held on 2324 March 2001 in Edmonton, Alberta. Participants presented 19 papers on data and dynamics of long-term peat accumulation and short-term carbon (C) fluxes, modeling approaches at various temporal and spatial scales, disturbance and C budget assessment, and policy issues related to C sinks. The extended abstracts from these presentations are included here, along with an introduction that summarizes the presentations. A synthesis based on breakout group summaries is also included, to provide expanded coverage of topics related to the importance of Canada's peatlands in the global C budget, the critical processes driving peatland dynamics, and the identification of significant knowledge gaps.