The MILLENNIA peat cohort model: predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands

The authors introduce MILLENNIA, a peat age-cohort model designed to address shortcomings in global soil models regarding the representation of long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation and dynamic hydrological processes, specifically water table depth (WTD). The model's predictions for SOC accumulation and peat ages were validated against observations from a UK peatland site.

• Current global soil models are considered inadequate for predicting climate-soil carbon feedbacks because they do not accurately represent peat carbon stocks and dynamics.
• Existing C-pool models suffer from two primary deficiencies: they lack representation of non-equilibrium soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation as peat cohorts with age information, and they fail to incorporate dynamic hydrological processes, such as changes in water table depth (WTD), which regulate SOC turnover.
• The MILLENNIA model incorporates a variable water table depth to drive carbon dynamics during Holocene peat accumulation. Validation using a UK peatland site—which is currently a weak net carbon source with high climate sensitivity—demonstrated that the model's predicted peat ages and SOC accumulation align well with observations.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2011). The MILLENNIA peat cohort model: predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-millennia-peat-cohort-model-predicting-past-present-and-future-soil-carbon-budgets-and-fluxes-under-changing-climates-in-peatlands/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The MILLENNIA peat cohort model: predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands. 2011. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-millennia-peat-cohort-model-predicting-past-present-and-future-soil-carbon-budgets-and-fluxes-under-changing-climates-in-peatlands/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The MILLENNIA peat cohort model: predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands |date=3 January 2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-millennia-peat-cohort-model-predicting-past-present-and-future-soil-carbon-budgets-and-fluxes-under-changing-climates-in-peatlands/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2011millennia, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The MILLENNIA peat cohort model: predicting past, present and future soil carbon budgets and fluxes under changing climates in peatlands}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-millennia-peat-cohort-model-predicting-past-present-and-future-soil-carbon-budgets-and-fluxes-under-changing-climates-in-peatlands/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }