Terrestrial Vegetation Drives Methane Production in the Sediments of two German Reservoirs.

ABSTRACT: Inland waters and reservoirs in particular are significant sources of methane to the atmosphere. However, little information is available on the extent to which organic carbon from terrestrial vegetation or from internal photosynthesis fuels the methane production. This limits our ability to constrain methane emissions efficiently. We studied the isotopic composition (¹³C, ¹⁴C) of pelagic and sedimentary carbon sources in two small German reservoirs. The methane was enriched by radiocarbon with isotopic ranges (∆¹⁴C 5‰ to 31‰) near to fresh terrestrial organic carbon (OC, 17‰ to 26‰). In contrast, potential source OC produced by internal photosynthesis was characterized by negative ∆¹⁴C values (-30‰ and -25‰) as derived from signatures of inorgan

SUBMITTER: Tittel J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6828770 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature