Title:

The Impact of Sedges on Belowground Methane Concentration and Emissions in a Temperate Peatland

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions result in climate warming. Methane is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential significantly greater than that of carbon dioxide. Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane to the atmosphere. Methane is emitted through three dominant transport pathways: diffusion, plant-mediated transport, and ebullition, or bubbling. Vascular plants found within wetlands are an important factor in methane emissions, since they can affect methane transport pathways as well as provide labile carbon for methane producing microbes. The objective of this project was to determine how the concentration gradient of methane in water belowground varies between vegetation communities at a local peatland, Sallie’s Fen. Methane efflux measurements were made at 10 sites within the fen using static flux chambers, in addition to porewater and meteorological measurements. An aerial survey was also conducted and the results were used to create a vegetation map that allowed flux and porewater measurements to be scaled across the fen. It can be concluded that the sedge Carex spp. influenced the strength of the gradient of belowground dissolved methane. These results further our understanding of methane transport pathways in wetlands, as well as how vegetation impacts emissions.

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