We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Tree Foliage is a Methane Sink in Upland Temperate Forests.
- Authors
Gorgolewski, Adam S.; Caspersen, John P.; Vantellingen, Juliana; Thomas, Sean C.
- Abstract
Previous attempts to quantify methane (CH4) fluxes from tree foliage have yielded ambiguous results, and very few studies have measured in situ foliar CH4 fluxes, particularly in upland sites. Here we quantify CH4 fluxes from tree foliage in upland and lowland temperate forests in central Ontario, Canada. Foliar CH4, carbon dioxide, and water vapor fluxes were measured in direct sunlight and imposed darkness using an off-axis-integrated cavity output spectroscopy system, and results were scaled to the stand level using estimates of sunlit and shaded leaf area index. We show that foliage in the upland site was consistently a CH4 sink during the day (− 0.54 nmol m−2 s−1 ± 0.06 SE in direct sunlight), representing about 38% of net daytime CH4 uptake by the ecosystem. Uptake was approximately two times higher in direct sunlight compared to imposed darkness and undetectable at night. The mechanism for uptake is hypothesized to be endophytic methanotrophic bacteria—relationships between CH4 and water vapor fluxes suggest CH4 uptake is regulated by transpiration and occurs within foliage tissues. In the lowland site foliage was a CH4 source (6.06 nmol m−2 s−1 ± 2.47 SE in direct sunlight) with an emission rate about 8% that of the soil, confirming previous findings suggesting xylem transport of soil-borne CH4 occurs in lowland forests with net soil methanogenesis. We conclude that tree foliage can act as both a substantial CH4 sink in upland forests and a CH4 source in lowland forests and thus is an important component in greenhouse gas budgets.
- Subjects
ONTARIO; TEMPERATE forests; WATER vapor transport; UPLANDS; LEAF area index; METHANOTROPHS
- Publication
Ecosystems, 2023, Vol 26, Issue 1, p174
- ISSN
1432-9840
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10021-022-00751-y