Woody stem methane emission in mature wetland alder trees

Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas that is predominantly emitted to the atmosphere from anoxic wetland ecosystems. Understanding the sources and emissions of CH4 is crucially important for climate change predictions; however, there are significant discrepancies between CH4 source estimates derived via so-called bottom-up and top-down methods. Here we report CH4 emission from the stems of mature wetland alder (Alnus glutinosa) trees in the UK, a common tree of northern hemisphere floodplains and wetlands. The alder stems most likely behave as conduits for soil-produced CH4 either in the gaseous or aqueous phase, and may, therefore, help to reconcile methodological differences in the way the wetland CH4 source is estimated. Alder tree stems emitted average peak CH4 fluxes of 101 μg CH4 m−2 h−1 (on a stem area basis) in early October, a rate that is similar to that obtained from mature Japanese ash (Fraxinus mandshurica var. japonica) in Japan and amounting to approximately 20% of the measured CH4 flux from the soil surface. The finding suggests that trees, which occupy 60% of Earth's wetlands and are normally excluded from the measurement programmes that form the basis for bottom-up estimates of the global wetland source, could be important contributors to overall terrestrial ecosystem CH4 flux

Archaeol: An Indicator of Methanogenesis in Water-Saturated Soils

Oxic soils typically are a sink for methane due to the presence of high-affinity methanotrophic Bacteria capable of oxidising methane. However, soils experiencing water saturation are able to host significant methanogenic archaeal communities, potentially affecting the capacity of the soil to act as a methane sink. In order to provide insight into methanogenic populations in such soils, the distribution of archaeol in free and conjugated forms was investigated as an indicator of fossilised and living methanogenic biomass using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. Of three soils studied, only one organic matter-rich site contained archaeol in quantifiable amounts. Assessment of the subsurface profile revealed a dominance of archaeol bound by glycosidic headgroups over phospholipids implying derivation from fossilised biomass. Moisture content, through control of organic carbon and anoxia, seemed to govern trends in methanogen biomass. Archaeol and crenarchaeol profiles differed, implying the former was not of thaumarcheotal origin. Based on these results, we propose the use of intact archaeol as a useful biomarker for methanogen biomass in soil and to track changes in moisture status and aeration related to climate change

Origin of light volatile hydrocarbon gases in mud volcano fluids, Gulf of Cadiz - evidence for multiple sources and transport mechanisms in active sedimentary wedges

Widespread mud volcanism across the thick (<= 14 km) seismically active sedimentary prism of the Gulf of Cadiz is driven by tectonic activity along extensive strike-slip faults and thrusts associated with the accommodation of the Africa-Eurasia convergence and building of the Arc of Gibraltar, respectively. An investigation of eleven active sites located on the Moroccan Margin and in deeper waters across the wedge showed that light volatile hydrocarbon gases vented at the mud volcanoes (MVs) have distinct, mainly thermogenic, origins. Gases of higher and lower thermal maturities are mixed at Ginsburg and Mercator MVs on the Moroccan Margin, probably because high maturity gases that are trapped beneath evaporite deposits are transported upwards at the MVs and mixed with shallower, less mature, thermogenic gases during migration. At all other sites except for the westernmost Porto MV, delta C-13-CH4 and delta H-2-CH4 values of similar to -50 parts per thousand and -200 parts per thousand, respectively, suggest a common origin for methane; however, the ratio of CH4/(C2H6 + C3H8) varies from similar to 10 to > 7000 between sites. Mixing of shallow biogenic and deep thermogenic gases cannot account for the observed compositions which instead result mainly from extensive migration of thermogenic gases in the deeply-buried sediments, possibly associated with biodegradation of C2+ homologues and secondary methane production at Captain Arutyunov and Carlos Ribeiro MVs. At the deep-water Bonjardim, Olenin and Carlos Ribeiro MVs, generation of C2+-enriched gases is probably promoted by high heat flux anomalies which have been measured in the western area of the wedge. At Porto MV, gases are highly enriched in CH4 having delta C-13-CH4 similar to -50 parts per thousand, as at most sites, but markedly lower delta H-2-CH4 Values < -250 parts per thousand, suggesting that it is not generated by thermal cracking of n-alkanes but rather that it has a deep Archaeal origin. The presence of petroleum-type hydrocarbons is consistent with a thermogenic origin, and at sites where CH4 is predominant support the suggestion that gases have experienced extensive transport during which they mobilized oil from sediments similar to 2-4 km deep. These fluids then migrate into shallower, thermally immature muds, driving their mobilization and extrusion at the seafloor. At Porto MV, the limited presence of petroleum in mud breccia sediments further supports the hypothesis of a predominantly deep microbial origin of CH4. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Large emissions from floodplain trees close the Amazon methane budget

Wetlands are the largest global source of atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. However, methane emission inventories from the Amazon floodplain, the largest natural geographic source of CH4 in the tropics, consistently underestimate the atmospheric burden of CH4 determined via remote sensing and inversion modelling, pointing to a major gap in our understanding of the contribution of these ecosystems to CH4 emissions. Here we report CH4 fluxes from the stems of 2,357 individual Amazonian floodplain trees from 13 locations across the central Amazon basin. We find that escape of soil gas through wetland trees is the dominant source of regional CH4 emissions. Methane fluxes from Amazon tree stems were up to 200 times larger than emissions reported for temperate wet forests6 and tropical peat swamp forests, representing the largest non-ebullitive wetland fluxes observed. Emissions from trees had an average stable carbon isotope value (δ13C) of −66.2 ± 6.4 per mil, consistent with a soil biogenic origin. We estimate that floodplain trees emit 15.1 ± 1.8 to 21.2 ± 2.5 teragrams of CH4 a year, in addition to the 20.5 ± 5.3 teragrams a year emitted regionally from other sources. Furthermore, we provide a ‘top-down’ regional estimate of CH4 emissions of 42.7 ± 5.6 teragrams of CH4 a year for the Amazon basin, based on regular vertical lower-troposphere CH4 profiles covering the period 2010–2013. We find close agreement between our ‘top-down’ and combined ‘bottom-up’ estimates, indicating that large CH4 emissions from trees adapted to permanent or seasonal inundation can account for the emission source that is required to close the Amazon CH4 budget. Our findings demonstrate the importance of tree stem surfaces in mediating approximately half of all wetland CH4 emissions in the Amazon floodplain, a region that represents up to one-third of the global wetland CH4 source when trees are combined with other emission sources

Methane emission through trees in temperate and tropical wetlands

Methane produced in wetland soil generally is thought to be emitted by a combination of three key processes: 1) diffusion through water-filled pores, 2) abrupt release of bubbles (ebullition), and 3) via internal spaces within the stems of herbaceous plants adapted to live in waterlogged soils. The capacity for trees to mediate methane emissions has received limited attention despite mesocosm studies of seedlings and saplings demonstrating that wetland trees have a significant capacity to transport soil-produced methane to the atmosphere. Notably ~60% of global wetlands are forested. We present in situ measurements of methane flux from a temperate carr (swamp) composed of alder (Alnus glutinosa) and birch (Betula pubescens) situated in the United Kingdom and a tropical forested peat swamp located in Borneo. The in situ data are complemented by a mesocosm experiment in which methane emissions were measured from alder saplings subjected to two water-regime treatments. In both the in situ and mesocosm studies, emissions from trees are compared to methane flux from the ground surface, the latter occurring via pore water diffusion, ebullition or via the aerenchyma of herbaceous plants. We show that tree stem emissions are controlled by a number of factors including tree species, soil pore-water concentration and stem lenticel density. Our results demonstrate that the omission of tree-mediated methane fluxes from measurement campaigns conducted in forested wetland can significantly underestimate the total ecosystem flux of methane

Methane emissions through trees in tropical and temperate forested wetlands

Wetlands are the single largest natural source of methane (CH4) emissions to the atmosphere. CH4 dynamics in wetlands are generally well understood but recent reports of CH4 flux through trees suggests a need to revisit CH4 transport processes. Wetland trees possess morphological adaptations, such as hypertrophied lenticels, aerenchyma and adventitious roots, which develop in response to soil anoxia. Such adaptations facilitate gas transport, providing a means to aerate the rhizosphere and a conduit for escape of soil CH4 to the atmosphere. Approximately 60% of global wetlands are forested and many tropical forests are permanently or seasonally flooded. Hence tree-mediated CH4 release could be an important factor in the global CH4 budget. CH4 emission from the trunks of temperate tree species has been confirmed; however, CH4 emissions from tropical trees and processes that control tree-mediated CH4 emissions remain unclear. This study investigated the role of trees in transporting soil-produced CH4 to the atmosphere and the principal mechanisms of tree-mediated CH4 emissions. CH4 fluxes from eight tropical tree species and two temperate tree species were measured in situ. The mechanisms and controls on tree-mediated CH4 emissions were studied using three-year-old common alder (Alnus glutinosa; 50 trees) grown under two artificially controlled water-table positions. The rates of CH4 emission from whole mesocosms, the soil surface and tree stems were measured using static closed chambers. Both temperate and tropical tree species emitted significant quantities of CH4 and notably, trees dominated ecosystem level CH4 fluxes in a tropical forest peat swamp. In a temperate riparian wetland, CH4 transport mechanism and the quantity of CH4 emitted was dependent on tree species. In Alnus glutinosa, no correlation was observed between stomatal behaviour and tree-mediated CH4 emissions, although stem CH4 emissions were positively correlated with stem lenticel density and the concentration of dissolved CH4 in soil. CH4 was not emitted from leaf surfaces in Alnus glutinosa. These findings indicate that tree-mediated CH4 emissions should be included in flux measurement campaigns in forested wetlands to avoid underestimation of total CH4 emissions from such ecosystems

Global Uptake of Atmospheric Methane by Soil From 1900 to 2100

Soil methanotrophy is the only biological process that removes methane (CH4) from the atmosphere. There is good agreement about the size of the global sink but great uncertainty about its interannual variability and regional responses to changes in key environmental drivers. We used the process-based methanotrophy model Methanotrophy Model (MeMo) v1.0 and output from global climate models to simulate regional and global changes in soil uptake of atmospheric CH4 from 1900 to 2100. The annual global uptake doubled from 17.1 ± 2.4 to 37.2 ± 3.3 Tg yr−1 from 1900-2015 and could increase further to 82.7 ± 4.4 Tg yr−1 by 2100 (RCP8.5), primarily due to enhanced diffusion of CH4 into soil as a result of increases in atmospheric CH4 mole fraction. We show that during the period 1980–2015 temperature became an important influence on the increasing rates of soil methanotrophy, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. In RCP-forced simulations the relative influence of temperature on changes in the uptake continues to increase, enhancing the soil sink through higher rates of methanotrophic metabolic activity, increases in the global area of active soil methanotrophy and length of active season. During the late 21st century under RCP6.0, temperature is predicted to become the dominant driver of changes in global mean soil uptake rates for the first time. Regionally, in Europe and Asia, nitrogen inputs dominate changes in soil methanotrophy, while soil moisture is the most important influence in tropical South America. These findings highlight that the soil sink could change in response to drivers other than atmospheric CH4 mole fraction.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Changes in methanogenic substrate utilization and communities with depth in a salt-marsh, creek sediment in southern England

International audienc

Archaeol: an indicator of methanogenesis in water-saturated soils

Oxic soils typically are a sink for methane due to the presence of high-affinity methanotrophic Bacteria capable of oxidising methane. However, soils experiencing water saturation are able to host significant methanogenic archaeal communities, potentially affecting the capacity of the soil to act as a methane sink. In order to provide insight into methanogenic populations in such soils, the distribution of archaeol in free and conjugated forms was investigated as an indicator of fossilised and living methanogenic biomass using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. Of three soils studied, only one organic matter-rich site contained archaeol in quantifiable amounts. Assessment of the subsurface profile revealed a dominance of archaeol bound by glycosidic headgroups over phospholipids implying derivation from fossilised biomass. Moisture content, through control of organic carbon and anoxia, seemed to govern trends in methanogen biomass. Archaeol and crenarchaeol profiles differed, implying the former was not of thaumarcheotal origin. Based on these results, we propose the use of intact archaeol as a useful biomarker for methanogen biomass in soil and to track changes in moisture status and aeration related to climate change