Trees are Biggest Methane "Vents" in Wetland Areas -- Even When They’re Dry
upstart writes:
Trees are biggest methane 'vents' in wetland areas - even when they're dry:
In a study published in the Royal Society journal, Philosophical Transactions A, the researchers have found evidence that far more methane is emitted by trees growing on floodplains in the Amazon basin than by soil or surface water and this occurs in both wet and dry conditions.
Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas and much of our atmospheric methane comes from wetlands. A great deal of research is being carried on into exactly how much methane is emitted via this route, but models typically assume that the gas is only produced when the ground is completely flooded and underwater.
In wetland areas where there are no trees, methane would typically be consumed by the soil on its way to the surface, but in forested wetland areas, the researchers say the tree roots could be acting as a transport system for the gas, up to the surface where it vents into the atmosphere from the tree trunks.
Methane is able to escape via this route even when it is produced in soil and water that is several meters below ground level.
This would mean that existing models could be significantly underestimating the likely extent of methane emissions in wetland areas such as the Amazon basin.
Journal Reference:
Vincent Gauci, Viviane Figueiredo, Nicola Gedney, et al. Non-flooded riparian Amazon trees are a regionally significant methane source, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A (DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0446)
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