scholarly journals Rhizosphere to the atmosphere: contrasting methane pathways, fluxes and geochemical drivers across the terrestrial-aquatic wetland boundary

Author(s):  
Luke C. Jeffrey ◽  
Damien T. Maher ◽  
Scott Johnston ◽  
Kylie Maguire ◽  
Andrew D. L. Steven ◽  
...  

Abstract. Although wetlands represent the largest natural source of atmospheric CH4, large uncertainties remain regarding the global CH4 flux. Wetland hydrological oscillations contribute to this uncertainty, dramatically altering wetland area, water table height, soil redox potentials and CH4 emissions. This study compares both terrestrial and aquatic CH4 fluxes over two distinct seasons in both permanent and seasonal remediated freshwater wetlands in subtropical Australia. We account for aquatic CH4 diffusion and ebullition rates, and plant-mediated CH4 fluxes from three distinct vegetation communities, thereby examining seasonal, diurnal and intra-habitat variability. CH4 emission rates were related to underlying sediment geochemistry. For example, distinct negative relationships between Fe(III) and SO42− and CH4 fluxes were observed, whereas distinct positive trends occurred between CH4 emissions and Fe(II) / AVS, where sediment Fe(III) and SO42− were depleted. The highest CH4 emissions of the seasonal wetland were measured during flooded conditions and always during daylight hours, which is consistent with soil redox potential and temperature being important co-drivers of CH4 flux. The highest CH4 fluxes were consistently emitted from the permanent wetland (1.5 to 10.5 mmol m−2 d−1), followed by the Phragmites australis community within the seasonal wetland (0.8 to 2.3 mmol m−2 d−1), whilst the lowest CH4 fluxes came from a region of forested Juncus sp. (−0.01 to 0.1 mmol m−2 d−1) which also corresponded with the highest sedimentary Fe(III) and SO42−. We suggest that wetland remediation strategies should consider geochemical profiles to help to mitigate excessive and unwanted methane emissions, especially during early system recovery periods.

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1799-1815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke C. Jeffrey ◽  
Damien T. Maher ◽  
Scott G. Johnston ◽  
Kylie Maguire ◽  
Andrew D. L. Steven ◽  
...  

Abstract. Although wetlands represent the largest natural source of atmospheric CH4, large uncertainties remain regarding the global wetland CH4 flux. Wetland hydrological oscillations contribute to this uncertainty, dramatically altering wetland area, water table height, soil redox potentials, and CH4 emissions. This study compares both terrestrial and aquatic CH4 fluxes in permanent and seasonal remediated freshwater wetlands in subtropical Australia over two field campaigns, representing differing hydrological and climatic conditions. We account for aquatic CH4 diffusion and ebullition rates and plant-mediated CH4 fluxes from three distinct vegetation communities, thereby examining diel and intra-habitat variability. CH4 emission rates were related to underlying sediment geochemistry. For example, distinct negative relationships between CH4 fluxes and both Fe(III) and SO42- were observed. Where sediment Fe(III) and SO42- were depleted, distinct positive trends occurred between CH4 emissions and Fe(II) ∕ acid volatile sulfur (AVS). Significantly higher CH4 emissions (p < 0.01) in the seasonal wetland were measured during flooded conditions and always during daylight hours, which is consistent with soil redox potential and temperature being important co-drivers of CH4 flux. The highest CH4 fluxes were consistently emitted from the permanent wetland (1.5 to 10.5 mmol m−2 d−1), followed by the Phragmites australis community within the seasonal wetland (0.8 to 2.3 mmol m−2 d−1), whilst the lowest CH4 fluxes came from a region of forested Juncus spp. (−0.01 to 0.1 mmol m−2 d−1), which also corresponded to the highest sedimentary Fe(III) and SO42-. We suggest that wetland remediation strategies should consider geochemical profiles to help to mitigate excessive and unwanted methane emissions, especially during early system remediation periods.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle B. Delwiche ◽  
Sara Helen Knox ◽  
Avni Malhotra ◽  
Etienne Fluet-Chouinard ◽  
Gavin McNicol ◽  
...  

Abstract. Methane (CH4) emissions from natural landscapes constitute roughly half of global CH4 contributions to the atmosphere, yet large uncertainties remain in the absolute magnitude and the seasonality of emission quantities and drivers. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements of CH4 flux are ideal for constraining ecosystem-scale CH4 emissions, including their seasonality, due to quasi-continuous and high temporal resolution of flux measurements, coincident measurements of carbon, water, and energy fluxes, lack of ecosystem disturbance, and increased availability of datasets over the last decade. Here, we 1) describe the newly published dataset, FLUXNET-CH4 Version 1.0, the first global dataset of CH4 EC measurements (available at https://fluxnet.org/data/fluxnet-ch4- community-product/). FLUXNET-CH4 includes half-hourly and daily gap-filled and non gap-filled aggregated CH4 fluxes and meteorological data from 79 sites globally: 42 freshwater wetlands, 6 brackish and saline wetlands, 7 formerly drained ecosystems, 7 rice paddy sites, 2 lakes, and 15 uplands. Then, we 2) evaluate FLUXNET-CH4 representativeness for freshwater wetland coverage globally, because the majority of sites in FLUXNET-CH4 Version 1.0 are freshwater wetlands and because freshwater wetlands are a substantial source of total atmospheric CH4 emissions; and 3) provide the first global estimates of the seasonal variability and seasonality predictors of freshwater wetland CH4 fluxes. Our representativeness analysis suggests that the freshwater wetland sites in the dataset cover global wetland bioclimatic attributes (encompassing energy, moisture, and vegetation-related parameters) in arctic, boreal, and temperate regions, but only sparsely cover humid tropical regions. Seasonality metrics of wetland CH4 emissions vary considerably across latitudinal bands. In freshwater wetlands (except those between 20° S to 20° N) the spring onset of elevated CH4 emissions starts three days earlier, and the CH4 emission season lasts 4 days longer, for each degree C increase in mean annual air temperature. On average, the onset of increasing CH4 emissions lags soil warming by one month, with very few sites experiencing increased CH4 emissions prior to the onset of soil warming. In contrast, roughly half of these sites experience the spring onset of rising CH4 emissions prior to the spring increase in gross primary productivity (GPP). The timing of peak summer CH4 emissions does not correlate with the timing for either peak summer temperature or peak GPP. Our results provide seasonality parameters for CH4 modeling, and highlight seasonality metrics that cannot be predicted by temperature or GPP (i.e., seasonality of CH4 peak). The FLUXNET-CH4 dataset provides an open-access resource for CH4 flux synthesis, has a range of applications, and is unique in that it includes coupled measurements of important CH4 drivers such as GPP and temperature. Although FLUXNET-CH4 could certainly be improved by adding more sites in tropical ecosystems and by increasing the number of site-years at existing sites, it is a powerful new resource for diagnosing and understanding the role of terrestrial ecosystems and climate drivers in the global CH4 cycle. All seasonality parameters are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4408468. Additionally, raw FLUXNET-CH4 data used to extract seasonality parameters can be downloaded from https://fluxnet.org/data/fluxnet-ch4-community-product/, and a complete list of the 79 individual site data DOIs is provided in Table 2 in the Data Availability section of this document.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Chiao-Wen Lin ◽  
Yu-Chen Kao ◽  
Wei-Jen Lin ◽  
Chuan-Wen Ho ◽  
Hsing-Juh Lin

Mangroves play an important role in carbon sequestration. However, mangroves can be sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, methane (CH4) emissions and related soil properties were determined in multiple mangroves in Taiwan, including Kandelia obovata and Avicennia marina mangroves. K. obovata possess prop roots, whereas pneumatophores are found in A. marina. Our results showed that mangrove soils were significant sources of CH4 emissions, which should be accounted for in mangrove carbon budgets. In particular, CH4 emissions in the A. marina mangroves were approximately 50- to 100-fold those of the K. obovata mangroves and the adjoining mudflats. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the soil salinity and pH in K. obovata mangroves and the soil redox potential and organic content in the mudflats were the key factors affecting CH4 emissions. However, the pneumatophore density alone explained approximately 48% of the variation in CH4 emissions in the A. marina mangroves. More pneumatophores resulted in higher CH4 emissions in the A. marina mangroves. Thus, compared with the assessed soil properties, the contribution of pneumatophores to the transportation of CH4 from soil was more significant. In addition to soil properties, our results demonstrated that the root structure may also affect GHG emissions from mangroves.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3607-3689
Author(s):  
Kyle B. Delwiche ◽  
Sara Helen Knox ◽  
Avni Malhotra ◽  
Etienne Fluet-Chouinard ◽  
Gavin McNicol ◽  
...  

Abstract. Methane (CH4) emissions from natural landscapes constitute roughly half of global CH4 contributions to the atmosphere, yet large uncertainties remain in the absolute magnitude and the seasonality of emission quantities and drivers. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements of CH4 flux are ideal for constraining ecosystem-scale CH4 emissions due to quasi-continuous and high-temporal-resolution CH4 flux measurements, coincident carbon dioxide, water, and energy flux measurements, lack of ecosystem disturbance, and increased availability of datasets over the last decade. Here, we (1) describe the newly published dataset, FLUXNET-CH4 Version 1.0, the first open-source global dataset of CH4 EC measurements (available at https://fluxnet.org/data/fluxnet-ch4-community-product/, last access: 7 April 2021). FLUXNET-CH4 includes half-hourly and daily gap-filled and non-gap-filled aggregated CH4 fluxes and meteorological data from 79 sites globally: 42 freshwater wetlands, 6 brackish and saline wetlands, 7 formerly drained ecosystems, 7 rice paddy sites, 2 lakes, and 15 uplands. Then, we (2) evaluate FLUXNET-CH4 representativeness for freshwater wetland coverage globally because the majority of sites in FLUXNET-CH4 Version 1.0 are freshwater wetlands which are a substantial source of total atmospheric CH4 emissions; and (3) we provide the first global estimates of the seasonal variability and seasonality predictors of freshwater wetland CH4 fluxes. Our representativeness analysis suggests that the freshwater wetland sites in the dataset cover global wetland bioclimatic attributes (encompassing energy, moisture, and vegetation-related parameters) in arctic, boreal, and temperate regions but only sparsely cover humid tropical regions. Seasonality metrics of wetland CH4 emissions vary considerably across latitudinal bands. In freshwater wetlands (except those between 20∘ S to 20∘ N) the spring onset of elevated CH4 emissions starts 3 d earlier, and the CH4 emission season lasts 4 d longer, for each degree Celsius increase in mean annual air temperature. On average, the spring onset of increasing CH4 emissions lags behind soil warming by 1 month, with very few sites experiencing increased CH4 emissions prior to the onset of soil warming. In contrast, roughly half of these sites experience the spring onset of rising CH4 emissions prior to the spring increase in gross primary productivity (GPP). The timing of peak summer CH4 emissions does not correlate with the timing for either peak summer temperature or peak GPP. Our results provide seasonality parameters for CH4 modeling and highlight seasonality metrics that cannot be predicted by temperature or GPP (i.e., seasonality of CH4 peak). FLUXNET-CH4 is a powerful new resource for diagnosing and understanding the role of terrestrial ecosystems and climate drivers in the global CH4 cycle, and future additions of sites in tropical ecosystems and site years of data collection will provide added value to this database. All seasonality parameters are available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4672601 (Delwiche et al., 2021). Additionally, raw FLUXNET-CH4 data used to extract seasonality parameters can be downloaded from https://fluxnet.org/data/fluxnet-ch4-community-product/ (last access: 7 April 2021), and a complete list of the 79 individual site data DOIs is provided in Table 2 of this paper.


2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis M. Kelliher ◽  
Harry Clark ◽  
Zheng Li ◽  
Paul C. D. Newton ◽  
Anthony J. Parsons ◽  
...  

Keppler et al. (2006, Nature 439, 187–191) showed that plants produce methane (CH4) in aerobic environments, leading Lowe (2006, Nature 439, 148–149) to postulate that in countries such as New Zealand, where grazed pastures have replaced forests, the forests could have produced as much CH4 as the ruminants currently grazing these areas. Estimating CH4 emissions from up to 85 million ruminants in New Zealand is challenging and, for completeness, the capacity of forest and pastoral soils to oxidise CH4 should be included. On average, the CH4 emission rate of grazing ruminants is estimated to be 9.6 ± 2.6 g m–2 year–1 (±standard deviation), six times the corresponding estimate for an indigenous forest canopy (1.6 ± 1.1 g m–2 year–1). The forest’s soil is estimated to oxidise 0.9 ± 0.2 g m–2 year–1 more CH4 than representative soils beneath grazed pasture. Taking into account plant and animal sources and the soil’s oxidative capacity, the net CH4 emission rates of forest and grazed ecosystems are 0.6 ± 1.1 and 9.8 ± 2.6 g m–2 year–1, respectively.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 1105-1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kern Ewing

Relationships between environmental variables and species distribution were studied in a brackish intertidal marsh formed by the Skagit River as it enters the Puget Sound bay system in Washington. Transects were established which covered the range of environmental variation in the marsh. A grid of environmental measuring stations provided information on soil texture, organic content of soil fines, macroorganic material in the soil, soil temperatures, interstitial soil water salinity, soil redox potential, and site elevation. Binary discriminant analysis, a nonparametric method using species presence–absence data, was used to construct standardized residual matrices. Principal component analysis of standardized residuals (Q mode) indicated that salinity and soil texture were strongly correlated with the first factor generated, elevation with the second, and soil redox potential with the third. The factors explained, respectively, 48, 21, and 14% of the variance in the residuals matrix. From R-mode analysis, eight community types were derived: three dominated by Carex lyngbyei, two by Scirpus americanus, one by Scirpus maritimus, and two which are highly diverse.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 5199-5215 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Li ◽  
Y. Huang ◽  
W. Zhang ◽  
Y.-Q. Yu

Abstract. Wetland loss and climate change are known to alter regional and global methane (CH4) budgets. Over the last six decades, an extensive area of marshland has been converted to cropland on the Sanjiang Plain in northeast China, and a significant increase in air temperature has also been observed there, while the impacts on regional CH4 budgets remain uncertain. Through model simulation, we estimated the changes in CH4 emissions associated with the conversion of marshland to cropland and climate change in this area. Model simulations indicated a significant reduction of 1.1 Tg yr−1 (0.7–1.8 Tg yr−1) from the 1950s to the 2000s in regional CH4 emissions. The cumulative reduction of CH4 from 1960 to 2009 was estimated to be ~36 Tg (24–57 Tg) relative to the 1950s, and marshland conversion and the climate contributed 86% and 14% of this change, respectively. Interannual variation in precipitation (linear trend with P > 0.2) contributed to yearly fluctuations in CH4 emissions, but the relatively lower amount of precipitation over the period 1960–2009 (47 mm yr−1 lower on average than in the 1950s) contributed ~91% of the reduction in the area-weighted CH4 flux. Global warming at a rate of 0.3 ° per decade (P < 0.001) has increased CH4 emissions significantly since the 1990s. Relative to the mean of the 1950s, the warming-induced increase in the CH4 flux has averaged 19 kg ha−1 yr−1 over the last two decades. In the RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5 scenarios of the fifth IPCC assessment report (AR5), the CH4 fluxes are predicted to increase by 36%, 52%, 78% and 95%, respectively, by the 2080s compared to 1961–1990 in response to climate warming and wetting.


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