Large Seasonal and Habitat Differences in Methane Ebullition on the Amazon Floodplain

• Tropical floodplains are an important source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, and ebullitive fluxes are likely to be important. We report direct measurements of CH4 ebullition in common habitats on the Amazon floodplain over two years based on floating chambers that allowed detection of bubbles, and submerged bubble traps. Ebullition was highly variable in space and time. Of the 840 floating chamber measurements (equivalent to 8,690 min of 10-min deployments), 22% captured bubbles. Ebullitive CH4 fluxes, measured using bubble traps deployed for a total of approximately 230 days, ranged from 0 to 109 mmol CH4 m−2 d−1, with a mean of 4.4 mmol CH4 m−2 d−1. During falling water, a hydroacoustic echosounder detected bubbles in 24% of the 70-m segments over 34 km. Ebullitive flux increased as the water level fell faster during falling water periods. In flooded forests, highest ebullitive fluxes occurred during falling water, while in open water and herbaceous plant habitats, higher ebullitive fluxes were measured during low water periods. The contribution of diffusive plus ebullitive CH4 flux represented by ebullition varied from 1% (high and rising water in open water of the lake) to 93% (falling water in flooded forests) based on bubble traps. Combining ebullitive and diffusive fluxes among habitats in relation to variations in water depth and areal coverage of aquatic habitats provides the basis for improved floodplain-wide estimates of CH4 evasion.Plain Language SummaryMethane is a trace gas that contributes to global warming, and wetlands are major natural sources. High concentrations of methane in sediments can lead to large releases to the atmosphere via bubbling (called ebullition). The Amazon basin is known to be an important source of CH4 to the atmosphere. We measured CH4 ebullition over two years in flooded forest, macrophytes and open water habitats in an Amazon floodplain using floating chambers that allowed detection of bubbles, and bubble traps; we also used hydroacoustics to detect bubbles in the water column. We found high spatial and temporal variability in all habitats, with ebullitive fluxes tending to be higher when water level was low or falling. While ebullition was often the major route of evasion of methane to the atmosphere, it varied from only about 1% to 93% of the diffusive plus ebullitive flux. The episodic nature and spatial variations of ebullition introduce considerable uncertainty in estimates of ebullitive CH4 flux. Our results have important implications for the regionalization of CH4 fluxes for Amazon floodplains and inland waters elsewhere, and emphasize the inter-related temporal and spatial variations in habitats and fluxes especially in aquatic systems with large seasonal variations in extent.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Bubbles

flooded forests

lakes

regionalization

tropical floodplains

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