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The sources of atmospheric methane (CH4) during the Holocene remain widely debated, including the role of high latitude wetland and peatland expansion and fen-to-bog transitions. We reconstructed CH4 emissions from northern peatlands from 13,000 before present (BP) to present using an empirical model based on observations of peat initiation (>3600 14C dates), peatland type (>250 peat cores), and contemporary CH4 emissions in order to explore the effects of changes in wetland type and peatland expansion on CH4 emissions over the end of the late glacial and the Holocene. We find that fen area increased steadily before 8000 BP as fens formed in major wetland complexes. After 8000 BP, new fen formation continued but widespread peatland succession (to bogs) and permafrost aggradation occurred. Reconstructed CH4 emissions from peatlands increased rapidly between 10,600 BP and 6900 BP due to fen formation and expansion. Emissions stabilized after 5000 BP at 42 ± 25 Tg CH4 y-1 as high-emitting fens transitioned to lower-emitting bogs and permafrost peatlands. Widespread permafrost formation in northern peatlands after 1000 BP led to drier and colder soils which decreased CH4 emissions by 20% to 34 ± 21 Tg y-1 by the present day. 

Stordalen Mire is a peatland in the discontinuous permafrost zone in arctic Sweden that exhibits a habitat gradient from permafrost palsa, toSphagnumbog underlain by permafrost, toEriophorum‐dominated fully thawed fen. We used three independent approaches to evaluate the annual, multi‐decadal, and millennial apparent carbon accumulation rates (aCAR) across this gradient: seven years of direct semi‐continuous measurement of CO₂and CH₄exchange, and 21 core profiles for²¹⁰Pb and¹⁴C peat dating. Year‐round chamber measurements indicated net carbon balance of −13 ± 8, −49 ± 15, and −91 ± 43 g C m⁻² y⁻¹for the years 2012–2018 in palsa, bog, and fen, respectively. Methane emission offset 2%, 7%, and 17% of the CO₂uptake rate across this gradient. Recent aCAR indicates higher C accumulation rates in surface peats in the palsa and bog compared to current CO₂fluxes, but these assessments are more similar in the fen. aCAR increased from low millennial‐scale levels (17–29 g C m⁻² y⁻¹) to moderate aCAR of the past century (72–81 g C m⁻² y⁻¹) to higher recent aCAR of 90–147 g C m⁻² y⁻¹. Recent permafrost collapse, greater inundation and vegetation response has made the landscape a stronger CO₂sink, but this CO₂sink is increasingly offset by rising CH₄emissions, dominated by modern carbon as determined by¹⁴C. The higher CH₄emissions result in higher net CO_{2‐equivalent}emissions, indicating that radiative forcing of this mire and similar permafrost ecosystems will exert a warming influence on future climate.