Fate of methane in canals draining tropical peatlands

Fate of methane in canals draining tropical peatlands

Tropical wetlands and freshwaters are major contributors to the growing atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) burden. Extensive peatland drainage has lowered CH 4 emissions from peat soils in Southeast Asia, but the canals draining these peatlands may be hotspots of CH 4 emissions. Alternatively, CH 4 oxidati...

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Published in:Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 9766
Main Authors: Perryman, Clarice R., Bowen, Jennifer C., Shahan, Julie, Silviani P.A.B, Desi, Dayanti, Erin, Andriyani, Yulita, Asyhari, Adibtya, Gangga, Adi, Novita, Nisa, Anshari, Gusti Z., Hoyt, Alison M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11-11-2024
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
704/106/47/4113
704/172/169/209
704/286
704/47/4113
Canals
Consumption
Drainage canals
Emissions
Emissions control
Fresh water
Hot spots
Humanities and Social Sciences
Methane
Microorganisms
multidisciplinary
Oxidation
Peat
Peat soils
Peatlands
Scale (corrosion)
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Waterways
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
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Summary:Tropical wetlands and freshwaters are major contributors to the growing atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) burden. Extensive peatland drainage has lowered CH 4 emissions from peat soils in Southeast Asia, but the canals draining these peatlands may be hotspots of CH 4 emissions. Alternatively, CH 4 oxidation (consumption) by methanotrophic microorganisms may attenuate emissions. Here, we used laboratory experiments and a synoptic survey of the isotopic composition of CH 4 in 34 canals across West Kalimantan, Indonesia to quantify the proportion of CH 4 that is consumed and therefore not emitted to the atmosphere. We find that CH 4 oxidation mitigates 76.4 ± 12.0% of potential canal emissions, reducing emissions by ~70 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 . Methane consumption also significantly impacts the stable isotopic fingerprint of canal CH 4 emissions. As canals drain over 65% of peatlands in Southeast Asia, our results suggest that CH 4 oxidation significantly influences landscape-scale CH 4 emissions from these ecosystems. Canals draining vast areas of peatland in Southeast Asia may be hotspots for methane emissions. Perryman et al. surveyed dozens of canals in Indonesia and found that methane-eating microbes reduce emissions from these waterways by over 50%.
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ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-54063-x