Soil microorganisms as controllers of atmospheric trace gases (H2, CO, CH4, OCS, N2O, and NO).

Methane is the most abundant organic chemical in Earth's atmosphere, and its concentration is increasing with time, as a variety of independent measurements have shown. Photochemical reactions oxidize methane in the atmosphere; through these reactions, methane exerts strong influence over the chemistry of the troposphere and the stratosphere and many species including ozone, hydroxyl radicals, and carbon monoxide. Also, through its infrared absorption spectrum, methane is an important greenhouse gas in the climate system. We describe and enumerate key roles and reactions. Then we focus on two kinds of methane production: microbial and thermogenic. Microbial methanogenesis is described, and key organisms and substrates are identified along with their properties and habitats. Microbial methane oxidation limits the release of methane from certain methanogenic areas. Both aerobic and anaerobic oxidation are described here along with methods to measure rates of methane production and oxidation experimentally. Indicators of the origin of methane, including C and H isotopes, are reviewed. We identify and evaluate several constraints on the budget of atmospheric methane, its sources, sinks and residence time. From these constraints and other data on sources and sinks we construct a list of sources and sinks, identities, and sizes. The quasi-steady state (defined in the text) annual source (or sink) totals about 310(±60) × 1012 mol (500(±95) × 1012 g), but there are many remaining uncertainties in source and sink sizes and several types of data that could lead to stronger constraints and revised estimates in the future. It is particularly difficult to identify enough sources of radiocarbon-free methane.

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Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane

The geographic and seasonal emission distributions of the major sources and sinks of atmospheric methane were compiled using methane flux measurements and energy and agricultural statistics in conjunction with global digital data bases of land surface characteristics and anthropogenic activities. Chemical destruction of methane in the atmosphere was calculated using three-dimensional OH fields every 5 days taken from Spivakovsky et al. (1990a, b). The signatures of each of the sources and sinks in the atmosphere were simulated using a global three-dimensional tracer transport model. Candidate methane budget scenarios were constructed according to mass balance of methane and its carbon isotopes. The verisimilitude of the scenarios was tested by their ability to reproduce the meridional gradient and seasonal variations of methane observed in the atmosphere. Constraints imposed by all the atmospheric observations are satisfied simultaneously by several budget scenarios. A preferred budget comprises annual destruction rates of 450 Tg by OH oxidation and 10 Tg by soil absorption and annual emissions of 80 Tg from fossil sources, 80 Tg from domestic animals, and 35 Tg from wetlands and tundra poleward of 50°N. Emissions from landfills, tropical swamps, rice fields, biomass burning, and termites total 295 Tg; however, the individual contributions of these terms cannot be determined uniquely because of the lack of measurements of direct fluxes and of atmospheric methane variations in regions where these sources are concentrated.

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Three‐dimensional model synthesis of the global methane cycle

Review and assessment of methane emissions from wetlands

Based on simultaneous measurements of CO2 and CH4 exchange in wetlands extending from subarctic peatlands to subtropical marshes, a positive correlation between CH4 emission and net ecosystem production is reported. It is suggested that net ecosystem production is a master variable integrating many factors which control CH4 emission in vegetated wetlands. It is found that about 3 percent of the daily net ecosystem production is emitted back to the atmosphere as CH4. With projected stimulation of primary production and soil microbial activity in wetlands associated with elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration, the potential for increasing CH4 emission from inundated wetlands, further enhancing the greenhouse effect, is examined.

Primary production control of methane emission from wetlands

3 – Effects of Vegetation on Methane Flux, Reservoirs, and Carbon Isotopic Composition

The delta-C{sup 13} stable carbon isotopic composition of methane collected in bubbles from the submerged soils of specific environments within the Everglades wetland in southern Florida varied from {minus}70{per thousand} to {minus}63{per thousand} across the system while organic carbon in the soils and dominant plants varied from {minus}28{per thousand} to {minus}25{per thousand}. A methane isotopic budget based upon the soil bubble isotope data and published methane flux measurements predicted a flux of isotopic composition {minus}65{per thousand}, a value 5-10{per thousand} more depleted in C{sup 13} than the isotopic composition of methane emanating to the atmosphere. Emergent aquatic plants, which are known to be active methane transporters between soil and atmosphere in this ecosystem, were found to transport methane of delta-C{sup 13} content up to 12{per thousand} different from the delta-C{sup 13} content of the soil methane bubble reservoir. Methane C{sup 13} content at one site was determined to be 108.6% modern (delta-C{sup 13} = 83 + or{minus}10{per thousand}). 47 refs., 1 fig., 5 tabs.

John W. H. Dacey

Papers

3 – Effects of Vegetation on Methane Flux, Reservoirs, and Carbon Isotopic Composition

Carbon isotopic composition of methane in Florida Everglades soils and fractionation during its transport to the troposphere