Plant species determine tidal wetland methane response to sea level rise.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33056993.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18763-4 and PMC identifier 7560622.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Blue carbon (C) ecosystems are among the most effective C sinks of the biosphere, but methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions can offset their climate cooling effect. Drivers of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from blue C ecosystems and effects of global change are poorly understood. Here we test for the effects of sea level rise (SLR) and its interactions with elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, eutrophication, and plant community composition on CH<sub>4</sub> emissions from an estuarine tidal wetland. Changes in CH<sub>4</sub> emissions with SLR are primarily mediated by shifts in plant community composition and associated plant traits that determine both the direction and magnitude of SLR effects on CH<sub>4</sub> emissions. We furthermore show strong stimulation of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions by elevated atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>, whereas effects of eutrophication are not significant. Overall, our findings demonstrate a high sensitivity of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions to global change with important implications for modeling greenhouse-gas dynamics of blue C ecosystems.
Medical subject headings
- Carbon Cycle
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Plants
- Sea Level Rise