Methane emissions partially offset “blue carbon” burial in mangroves

Rosentreter, Judith A.; Maher, Damien T.; Erler, Dirk V.; Murray, Rachel; Eyre, Bradley D.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aao4985

Cited by 189 publications

(155 citation statements)

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“…This suggests that tree stem flux differences between the dead and living stands were not related to differences between the sedimentary CH 4 pools near the sediment–atmosphere interface. Furthermore, the middle and lower CH 4 sediment fluxes were within range of average global mangrove sediment fluxes of 391.2 ± 153.4 μmol m −2 d −1 (Rosentreter et al ., ). Interestingly, despite mean positive redox potentials of the upper tidal sediments (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Rosentreter et al . (), however, recently showed that global mangrove CH 4 emissions may partially offset ‘blue carbon’ burial by up to 20%, even though no tree‐mediated fluxes were included in their synthesis. As the terrestrial–oceanic boundary represents an extremely dynamic and challenging environment, mangrove forests are subjected to frequent meteorological and physicochemical stressors, which can be exacerbated by climate change, resulting in mass‐mortality events (Lovelock et al ., ; Sippo et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the high sedimentary carbon accumulation rates of mangrove systems and 'perceived' low CH 4 emissions from saline wetlands, mangroves have historically been considered intensive 'blue carbon' sinks (Donato et al, 2011;Sanders et al, 2016;Lovelock & Duarte, 2019). Rosentreter et al (2018), however, recently showed that global mangrove CH 4 emissions may partially offset 'blue carbon' burial by up to 20%, even though no tree-mediated fluxes were included in their synthesis. As the terrestrial-oceanic boundary represents an extremely dynamic and challenging environment, mangrove forests are subjected to frequent meteorological and physicochemical stressors, which can be exacerbated by climate change, resulting in mass-mortality events (Lovelock et al, 2017;Sippo et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

et al. 2019

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Summary Growing evidence indicates that tree‐stem methane (CH4) emissions may be an important and unaccounted‐for component of local, regional and global carbon (C) budgets. Studies to date have focused on upland and freshwater swamp‐forests; however, no data on tree‐stem fluxes from estuarine species currently exist. Here we provide the first‐ever mangrove tree‐stem CH4 flux measurements from >50 trees (n = 230 measurements), in both standing dead and living forest, from a region suffering a recent large‐scale climate‐driven dieback event (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia). Average CH4 emissions from standing dead mangrove tree‐stems was 249.2 ± 41.0 μmol m−2 d−1 and was eight‐fold higher than from living mangrove tree‐stems (37.5 ± 5.8 μmol m−2 d−1). The average CH4 flux from tree‐stem bases (c. 10 cm aboveground) was 1071.1 ± 210.4 and 96.8 ± 27.7 μmol m−2 d−1 from dead and living stands respectively. Sediment CH4 fluxes and redox potentials did not differ significantly between living and dead stands. Our results suggest both dead and living tree‐stems act as CH4 conduits to the atmosphere, bypassing potential sedimentary oxidation processes. Although large uncertainties exist when upscaling data from small‐scale temporal measurements, we estimated that dead mangrove tree‐stem emissions may account for c. 26% of the net ecosystem CH4 flux.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

et al. 2019

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“…Methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) are the important GHGs that contribute to more than one-quarter of anthropogenic global warming, and their emissions partly offset terrestrial CO 2 uptake at the global scale (13,14). It has been reported that the emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O from terrestrial ecosystems offset 73% of the land CO 2 sink over the North American continent (15).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen addition increased CO ₂ uptake more than non-CO ₂ greenhouse gases emissions in a Moso bamboo forest

et al. 2020

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Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition affects the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of ecosystems through the net atmospheric CO2 exchange and the emission of non-CO2 GHGs (CH4 and N2O). We quantified the effects of N deposition on biomass increment, soil organic carbon (SOC), and N2O and CH4 fluxes and, ultimately, the net GHG budget at ecosystem level of a Moso bamboo forest in China. Nitrogen addition significantly increased woody biomass increment and SOC decomposition, increased N2O emission, and reduced soil CH4 uptake. Despite higher N2O and CH4 fluxes, the ecosystem remained a net GHG sink of 26.8 to 29.4 megagrams of CO2 equivalent hectare−1 year−1 after 4 years of N addition against 22.7 hectare−1 year−1 without N addition. The total net carbon benefits induced by atmospheric N deposition at current rates of 30 kilograms of N hectare−1 year−1 over Moso bamboo forests across China were estimated to be of 23.8 teragrams of CO2 equivalent year−1.

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“…The tropical seagrass species Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson is native to the Indian Ocean and is one of the most common species in the Red Sea (Qurban et al, 2019). It seems to be highly adaptive to various environments, as it is now found as an exotic species in the Mediterranean (Lipkin, 1975) and the Caribbean Sea (Ruiz and Ballantine, 2004), indicating its high resilience to changing conditions (Por, 1971). We first characterize air-seawater fluxes of CO 2 and CH 4 in Red Sea Halophila stipulacea communities compared to adjacent unvegetated sediments and then experimentally examine their response, along with that of the C isotopic signature of CO 2 and CH 4 , to gradual warming from 25 to 37 • C. In addition, we assess the response to prolonged darkness, thereby providing insights into the possible role of plant photosynthesis in supporting CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warming enhances carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from Red Sea seagrass (<i>Halophila stipulacea</i>) sediments

2020

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Abstract. Seagrass meadows are autotrophic ecosystems acting as carbon sinks, but they have also been shown to be sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Seagrasses can be negatively affected by increasing seawater temperatures, but the effects of warming on CO2 and CH4 fluxes in seagrass meadows have not yet been reported. Here, we examine the effect of two disturbances on air–seawater fluxes of CO2 and CH4 in Red Sea Halophila stipulacea communities compared to adjacent unvegetated sediments using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. We first characterized CO2 and CH4 fluxes in vegetated and adjacent unvegetated sediments, and then experimentally examined their response, along with that of the carbon (C) isotopic signature of CO2 and CH4, to gradual warming from 25 ∘C (winter seawater temperature) to 37 ∘C, 2 ∘C above current maximum temperature. In addition, we assessed the response to prolonged darkness, thereby providing insights into the possible role of suppressing plant photosynthesis in supporting CO2 and CH4 fluxes. We detected 6-fold-higher CO2 fluxes in vegetated compared to bare sediments, as well as 10- to 100-fold-higher CH4 fluxes. Warming led to an increase in net CO2 and CH4 fluxes, reaching average fluxes of 10 422.18 ± 2570.12 µmol CO2 m−2 d−1 and 88.11±15.19 µmol CH4 m−2 d−1, while CO2 and CH4 fluxes decreased over time in sediments maintained at 25 ∘C. Prolonged darkness led to an increase in CO2 fluxes but a decrease in CH4 fluxes in vegetated sediments. These results add to previous research identifying Red Sea seagrass meadows as a significant source of CH4, while also indicating that sublethal warming may lead to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from seagrass meadows, providing a feedback mechanism that may contribute to further enhancing global warming.

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Methane emissions partially offset “blue carbon” burial in mangroves

Abstract: Water and sediment methane emissions have the potential to offset “blue carbon” burial in mangrove coastal ecosystems.

Cited by 189 publications

References 87 publications

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Nitrogen addition increased CO ₂ uptake more than non-CO ₂ greenhouse gases emissions in a Moso bamboo forest

Warming enhances carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from Red Sea seagrass (<i>Halophila stipulacea</i>) sediments

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Methane emissions partially offset “blue carbon” burial in mangroves

Abstract: Water and sediment methane emissions have the potential to offset “blue carbon” burial in mangrove coastal ecosystems.

Cited by 189 publications

References 87 publications

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Nitrogen addition increased CO 2 uptake more than non-CO 2 greenhouse gases emissions in a Moso bamboo forest

Warming enhances carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from Red Sea seagrass (&lt;i&gt;Halophila stipulacea&lt;/i&gt;) sediments

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Nitrogen addition increased CO ₂ uptake more than non-CO ₂ greenhouse gases emissions in a Moso bamboo forest

Warming enhances carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from Red Sea seagrass (<i>Halophila stipulacea</i>) sediments