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Title: Methane emissions from tree stems: a new frontier in the global carbon cycle

Journal Article · · New Phytologist
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15582 · OSTI ID:1484115
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [3];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11]; ORCiD logo [12];  [13];  [1];  [14];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
  2. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)
  3. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD (United States)
  4. Aalborg Univ. (Denmark)
  5. Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (United States)
  6. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
  7. Technical Univ. of Denmark (Denmark)
  8. Lancaster Univ., Lancaster (United Kingdom)
  9. Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)
  10. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  11. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  12. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  13. Tokyo Univ. of Agriculture (Japan)
  14. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

Tree stems from wetland, floodplain and upland forests can produce and emit methane (CH4). Tree CH4 stem emissions have high spatial and temporal variability, but there is no consensus on the biophysical mechanisms that drive stem CH4 production and emissions. Here, we summarize up to 30 opportunities and challenges for stem CH4 emissions research, which when addressed will improve estimates of magnitudes, patterns, drivers and trace the potential origin of CH4 emissions. We identified the need (i) for both long–term high frequency measurements of stem CH4 emissions to understand the fine scale processes, alongside rapid large–scale measurements designed to understand variability across individuals, species and ecosystems; (ii) to identify microorganisms and biogeochemical pathways associated with CH4 production; and (iii) to develop a mechanistic model including passive and active transport of CH4 from the soil–tree–atmosphere continuum. Addressing these challenges would help to constrain magnitudes and patterns of CH4 emissions, and would allow for the integration of pathways and mechanisms of CH4 production and emissions into process–based models. As a result, these advances will facilitate upscaling of stem CH4 emissions to the ecosystem level and quantify the role of stem CH4 emissions for the local–to–global CH4 budget.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1484115
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1506688; OSTI ID: 1487299
Journal Information:
New Phytologist, Journal Name: New Phytologist Journal Issue: none Vol. in press; ISSN 0028-646X
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

Methane emissions from tree stems in neotropical peatlands journal October 2019
Radon as a natural tracer of gas transport through trees journal November 2019
Short-term flooding increases CH4 and N2O emissions from trees in a riparian forest soil-stem continuum journal February 2020
Methane emissions from tree stems in neotropical peatlands journal October 2019
Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality journal June 2019
Automated measurements of greenhouse gases fluxes from tree stems and soils: magnitudes, patterns and drivers journal March 2019
Methyl-coenzyme M reductase-dependent endogenous methane enhances plant tolerance against abiotic stress and alters ABA sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana journal August 2019
Longitudinal Gradients in Tree Stem Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Across Six Pacific Northwest Coastal Forests journal June 2019