Biotic and abiotic controls on sediment carbon dioxide and methane fluxes under short-term experimental warming

Due to the differences in biotic and abiotic factors between soil and sediments, the predicted linkages between biotic and abiotic factors and soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) fluxes under warming may not be suitable for sediments. Additionally, the combination of biotic and abiotic factors which determines sediment temperature-dependent CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes remains unresolved. To address this issue, different types of sediments (including lake, small river and pond sediments) collected from 30 sites across the Yangtze River Basin were incubated under short-term experimental warming. During the incubating phase, the sediment temperature-dependent CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes as well as the accompanying biotic factors (organic carbon and microbial community) and abiotic factors (pH and dissolved oxygen (DO)) were determined and analyzed synthetically. Our results indicated that sediment CO₂ fluxes were more sensitive than CH₄ fluxes to warming, which might lead to a relatively large CO₂ contribution to total greenhouse gas emissions in a warming climate. Additionally, temperature-dependent CO₂ fluxes in pond sediments were more sensitive than those in lake sediments. Random forest analysis indicated that DO greatly affected the variation in the sediment temperature-dependent CO₂ fluxes, whereas Methanococcales primarily predicted the CH₄ fluxes under warming. DO also highly affected the variation in the temperature sensitivity of CH₄ fluxes, whereas pH mostly predicted the temperature sensitivity of CO₂ fluxes. Our findings suggest that biotic and abiotic factors, especially DO, pH and the composition of methanogens, coregulate CO₂ and CH₄ emissions in response to climate warming. Therefore, biotic and abiotic factors should be considered in the models for predication and investigation of sediment organic carbon dynamics under climate change.

Effect of thaw depth on fluxes of CO₂ and CH₄ in manipulated Arctic coastal tundra of Barrow, Alaska

Changes in CO₂ and CH₄ emissions represent one of the most significant consequences of drastic climate change in the Arctic, by way of thawing permafrost, a deepened active layer, and decline of thermokarst lakes in the Arctic. This study conducted flux-measurements of CO₂ and CH₄, as well as environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, and thaw depth, as part of a water table manipulation experiment in the Arctic coastal plain tundra of Barrow, Alaska during autumn. The manipulation treatment consisted of draining, controlling, and flooding treated sections by adjusting standing water. Inundation increased CH₄ emission by a factor of 4.3 compared to non-flooded sections. This may be due to the decomposition of organic matter under a limited oxygen environment by saturated standing water. On the other hand, CO₂ emission in the dry section was 3.9-fold higher than in others. CH₄ emission tends to increase with deeper thaw depth, which strongly depends on the water table; however, CO₂ emission is not related to thaw depth. Quotients of global warming potential (GWPCO₂) (dry/control) and GWPCH₄ (wet/control) increased by 464 and 148%, respectively, and GWPCH₄ (dry/control) declined by 66%. This suggests that CO₂ emission in a drained section is enhanced by soil and ecosystem respiration, and CH₄ emission in a flooded area is likely stimulated under an anoxic environment by inundated standing water. The findings of this manipulation experiment during the autumn period demonstrate the different production processes of CO₂ and CH₄, as well as different global warming potentials, coupled with change in thaw depth. Thus the outcomes imply that the expansion of tundra lakes leads the enhancement of CH₄ release, and the disappearance of the lakes causes the stimulated CO₂ production in response to the Arctic climate change.