Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Carolina Voigt
  • Anna Maria Virkkala
  • Gabriel Hould Gosselin
  • Kathryn A. Bennett
  • T. Andrew Black
  • Matteo Detto
  • Charles Chevrier-Dion
  • Georg Guggenberger
  • Wasi Hashmi
  • Lukas Kohl
  • Dan Kou
  • Charlotte Marquis
  • Philip Marsh
  • Maija E. Marushchak
  • Zoran Nesic
  • Hannu Nykänen
  • Taija Saarela
  • Leopold Sauheitl
  • Branden Walker
  • Niels Weiss
  • Evan J. Wilcox
  • Oliver Sonnentag

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • University of Eastern Finland
  • University of Montreal
  • Universität Hamburg
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center
  • Wilfrid Laurier University
  • University of British Columbia
  • Princeton University
  • University of Jyvaskyla
  • Government of Northwest Territories
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1095–1104
Number of pages10
JournalNature climate change
Volume13
Early online date31 Aug 2023
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Abstract

Arctic wetlands are known methane (CH4) emitters but recent studies suggest that the Arctic CH4 sink strength may be underestimated. Here we explore the capacity of well-drained Arctic soils to consume atmospheric CH4 using >40,000 hourly flux observations and spatially distributed flux measurements from 4 sites and 14 surface types. While consumption of atmospheric CH4 occurred at all sites at rates of 0.092 ± 0.011 mgCH4 m−2 h−1 (mean ± s.e.), CH4 uptake displayed distinct diel and seasonal patterns reflecting ecosystem respiration. Combining in situ flux data with laboratory investigations and a machine learning approach, we find biotic drivers to be highly important. Soil moisture outweighed temperature as an abiotic control and higher CH4 uptake was linked to increased availability of labile carbon. Our findings imply that soil drying and enhanced nutrient supply will promote CH4 uptake by Arctic soils, providing a negative feedback to global climate change.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration. / Voigt, Carolina; Virkkala, Anna Maria; Hould Gosselin, Gabriel et al.
In: Nature climate change, Vol. 13, 10.2023, p. 1095–1104.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Voigt, C, Virkkala, AM, Hould Gosselin, G, Bennett, KA, Black, TA, Detto, M, Chevrier-Dion, C, Guggenberger, G, Hashmi, W, Kohl, L, Kou, D, Marquis, C, Marsh, P, Marushchak, ME, Nesic, Z, Nykänen, H, Saarela, T, Sauheitl, L, Walker, B, Weiss, N, Wilcox, EJ & Sonnentag, O 2023, 'Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration', Nature climate change, vol. 13, pp. 1095–1104. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01785-3
Voigt, C., Virkkala, A. M., Hould Gosselin, G., Bennett, K. A., Black, T. A., Detto, M., Chevrier-Dion, C., Guggenberger, G., Hashmi, W., Kohl, L., Kou, D., Marquis, C., Marsh, P., Marushchak, M. E., Nesic, Z., Nykänen, H., Saarela, T., Sauheitl, L., Walker, B., ... Sonnentag, O. (2023). Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration. Nature climate change, 13, 1095–1104. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01785-3
Voigt C, Virkkala AM, Hould Gosselin G, Bennett KA, Black TA, Detto M et al. Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration. Nature climate change. 2023 Oct;13:1095–1104. Epub 2023 Aug 31. doi: 10.1038/s41558-023-01785-3
Voigt, Carolina ; Virkkala, Anna Maria ; Hould Gosselin, Gabriel et al. / Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration. In: Nature climate change. 2023 ; Vol. 13. pp. 1095–1104.
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@article{bf7732e8bedf4d6ca9096a2fa98c7b4d,
title = "Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration",
abstract = "Arctic wetlands are known methane (CH4) emitters but recent studies suggest that the Arctic CH4 sink strength may be underestimated. Here we explore the capacity of well-drained Arctic soils to consume atmospheric CH4 using >40,000 hourly flux observations and spatially distributed flux measurements from 4 sites and 14 surface types. While consumption of atmospheric CH4 occurred at all sites at rates of 0.092 ± 0.011 mgCH4 m−2 h−1 (mean ± s.e.), CH4 uptake displayed distinct diel and seasonal patterns reflecting ecosystem respiration. Combining in situ flux data with laboratory investigations and a machine learning approach, we find biotic drivers to be highly important. Soil moisture outweighed temperature as an abiotic control and higher CH4 uptake was linked to increased availability of labile carbon. Our findings imply that soil drying and enhanced nutrient supply will promote CH4 uptake by Arctic soils, providing a negative feedback to global climate change.",
author = "Carolina Voigt and Virkkala, {Anna Maria} and {Hould Gosselin}, Gabriel and Bennett, {Kathryn A.} and Black, {T. Andrew} and Matteo Detto and Charles Chevrier-Dion and Georg Guggenberger and Wasi Hashmi and Lukas Kohl and Dan Kou and Charlotte Marquis and Philip Marsh and Marushchak, {Maija E.} and Zoran Nesic and Hannu Nyk{\"a}nen and Taija Saarela and Leopold Sauheitl and Branden Walker and Niels Weiss and Wilcox, {Evan J.} and Oliver Sonnentag",
note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the Academy of Finland project MUFFIN (grant no. 332196, awarded to C.V.) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation project Changing Arctic Network (CANet, grant no. 33661, awarded to P.M.). We wish to acknowledge further financial support through the Canada Research Chair (CRC-2018-00259, awarded to O.S. and 950-232786 awarded to P.M.) and NSERC Discovery Grants programme (DGPIN-2018-05743 awarded to O.S. and RGPIN-2022-05347 awarded to P.M.), ArcticNet, a Network of Centres of Excellence Canada (grant no. P216), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund{\textquoteright}s Global Water Futures programme (Northern Water Futures), the Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC, grant no. 337550), the Polar Continental Shelf Program (608-20 and 602-21), the BMBF project MOMENT (03F0931A) and Western AG through supply of PRS probes. The research licences for the Canadian sites (nos. 16790, 16732, 16501, 16316, 16433, 16781 and 17017) were administered by the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik and by Mets{\"a}hallitus (no. MH3780/2021) for the Finnish sites. A.-M.V. was supported by Gordon and Betty Moore foundation (grant no. 8414), M.D. by the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University, D.K. by the Academy of Finland project N-PERM (grant no. 341348), M.E.M. by the Academy of Finland project PANDA (grant no. 317054), T.S. by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry and INTERACT Transnational Access (grant no. 730938) and E.J.W. by the Weston Family Foundation and Ontario Graduate Scholarships. We wish to thank M. Peichl and P. Taillardat for valuable discussions, J. Voglimacci, D. Kariyawasam, B. Dakin and J. Seto, for practical help in the field, M. Pihlatie for instrument support, W. Quinton and the {\L}{\'ı}{\'ı}dl{\k ı}{\k ı} K{\'ų}{\c e}́ First Nation for site access to Scotty Creek. ",
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TY - JOUR

T1 - Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration

AU - Voigt, Carolina

AU - Virkkala, Anna Maria

AU - Hould Gosselin, Gabriel

AU - Bennett, Kathryn A.

AU - Black, T. Andrew

AU - Detto, Matteo

AU - Chevrier-Dion, Charles

AU - Guggenberger, Georg

AU - Hashmi, Wasi

AU - Kohl, Lukas

AU - Kou, Dan

AU - Marquis, Charlotte

AU - Marsh, Philip

AU - Marushchak, Maija E.

AU - Nesic, Zoran

AU - Nykänen, Hannu

AU - Saarela, Taija

AU - Sauheitl, Leopold

AU - Walker, Branden

AU - Weiss, Niels

AU - Wilcox, Evan J.

AU - Sonnentag, Oliver

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by the Academy of Finland project MUFFIN (grant no. 332196, awarded to C.V.) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation project Changing Arctic Network (CANet, grant no. 33661, awarded to P.M.). We wish to acknowledge further financial support through the Canada Research Chair (CRC-2018-00259, awarded to O.S. and 950-232786 awarded to P.M.) and NSERC Discovery Grants programme (DGPIN-2018-05743 awarded to O.S. and RGPIN-2022-05347 awarded to P.M.), ArcticNet, a Network of Centres of Excellence Canada (grant no. P216), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund’s Global Water Futures programme (Northern Water Futures), the Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC, grant no. 337550), the Polar Continental Shelf Program (608-20 and 602-21), the BMBF project MOMENT (03F0931A) and Western AG through supply of PRS probes. The research licences for the Canadian sites (nos. 16790, 16732, 16501, 16316, 16433, 16781 and 17017) were administered by the Aurora Research Institute in Inuvik and by Metsähallitus (no. MH3780/2021) for the Finnish sites. A.-M.V. was supported by Gordon and Betty Moore foundation (grant no. 8414), M.D. by the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University, D.K. by the Academy of Finland project N-PERM (grant no. 341348), M.E.M. by the Academy of Finland project PANDA (grant no. 317054), T.S. by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry and INTERACT Transnational Access (grant no. 730938) and E.J.W. by the Weston Family Foundation and Ontario Graduate Scholarships. We wish to thank M. Peichl and P. Taillardat for valuable discussions, J. Voglimacci, D. Kariyawasam, B. Dakin and J. Seto, for practical help in the field, M. Pihlatie for instrument support, W. Quinton and the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation for site access to Scotty Creek.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - Arctic wetlands are known methane (CH4) emitters but recent studies suggest that the Arctic CH4 sink strength may be underestimated. Here we explore the capacity of well-drained Arctic soils to consume atmospheric CH4 using >40,000 hourly flux observations and spatially distributed flux measurements from 4 sites and 14 surface types. While consumption of atmospheric CH4 occurred at all sites at rates of 0.092 ± 0.011 mgCH4 m−2 h−1 (mean ± s.e.), CH4 uptake displayed distinct diel and seasonal patterns reflecting ecosystem respiration. Combining in situ flux data with laboratory investigations and a machine learning approach, we find biotic drivers to be highly important. Soil moisture outweighed temperature as an abiotic control and higher CH4 uptake was linked to increased availability of labile carbon. Our findings imply that soil drying and enhanced nutrient supply will promote CH4 uptake by Arctic soils, providing a negative feedback to global climate change.

AB - Arctic wetlands are known methane (CH4) emitters but recent studies suggest that the Arctic CH4 sink strength may be underestimated. Here we explore the capacity of well-drained Arctic soils to consume atmospheric CH4 using >40,000 hourly flux observations and spatially distributed flux measurements from 4 sites and 14 surface types. While consumption of atmospheric CH4 occurred at all sites at rates of 0.092 ± 0.011 mgCH4 m−2 h−1 (mean ± s.e.), CH4 uptake displayed distinct diel and seasonal patterns reflecting ecosystem respiration. Combining in situ flux data with laboratory investigations and a machine learning approach, we find biotic drivers to be highly important. Soil moisture outweighed temperature as an abiotic control and higher CH4 uptake was linked to increased availability of labile carbon. Our findings imply that soil drying and enhanced nutrient supply will promote CH4 uptake by Arctic soils, providing a negative feedback to global climate change.

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JO - Nature climate change

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