The Impact of Wetlands on Methane Emissions: Causes, Factors, and Solutions

KOMPAS.com – Methane is a very important greenhouse gas, making a significant contribution to global warming.

Molecularly, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat compared to carbon dioxide, which is the main driver of climate change.

Various human activities, such as agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, together contribute a large proportion of methane to the atmosphere.

Also read: Methane, the Greenhouse Gas which Turns Out to Be Renewable Energy

Wetlands emit methane

NASA notes that about a third of all methane emissions come from wetlands.

Ecosystem types such as swamps, mangroves and rice fields, have a central role in the global carbon cycle, in addition to providing habitat for various species.

Apart from that, wetlands are also the main provider of methane gas (CH4) in the atmosphere.

NASA highlights the importance of understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources for scientists and policymakers seeking to address climate change by reducing emissions caused by human activities.

How do wetlands contribute to methane?

Reporting from Science Daily, Tuesday (26/9/2023), researchers from several universities have studied the impact of wetlands on the greenhouse gas methane.

“Methane has a much greater impact than carbon dioxide on global warming – an impact 25 times greater,” said lead author Karla Jarecke of the study.

Also read: Methane Could Be a Detectable Sign of Extraterrestrial Life, Study Explains

Both natural and artificial wetlands produce methane emissions. Due to its constantly moist nature, soil microbes and plants are forced to metabolize under anaerobic conditions, which contributes to methane production.

Microbes in wetland soil are responsible for methane production.

This gas then reaches the atmosphere through diffusion, travel through plant tissue, and the episodic release of gas bubbles.

The hydrological stability of wetland soils and the efficiency of transport through plants influence how much and how often methane is released from those soils.

Factors influencing methane emissions

This research focuses on two common wetland plants and their potential role in producing methane emissions.

Also read: Researchers Find Methane on Mars, Could It Be a Sign of Life?

Researchers took seeds of swamp milkweed and northern water plantain from wetlands and planted them in soil collected in PVC pipes.

In addition to comparing methane emission levels between these two plant species, the study also examined the influence of hydrological conditions and soil saturation levels on gas emissions.

The study results show that factors such as water content and soil saturation level have a greater impact on methane emissions than the type of crop used.

Although there were differences in methane emissions between laboratory mesocosms using water plantain and swamp milkweed, methane emissions were not significantly different in field mesocosms growing both types of plants.

The results of this research have important value in designing wetland management strategies that can increase carbon storage and reduce methane emissions, taking into account factors such as soil saturation level and hydrological conditions.

Also read: Deep Sea Worms and Bacteria Together Harvest Energy from Methane

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2023-09-27 02:30:00
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