Methane sources and sinks in a periodically flooded South African savanna

Abstract

Methane (CH4) fluxes were measured over a 2-year period at subtropical savanna and floodplain sites located in South Africa. No significant differences were detected in fluxes from the nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor savannas. Savannas were not always sinks and showed some CH4 emissions during the wet, summer season with fluxes in the range of -1.6 to 1.68 mg m-2 d-1. Soil temperature did not have a significant effect on the flux, while CH4 consumption decreased and emissions increased with an increase in soil moisture between 5% and 50% water-filled-pore-space (WFPS). Understanding the factors which control the production and emission of CH4 in aerobic environments is extremely important for predicting net emissions from a region. Dry floodplain soil fluxes were near zero and did not differ significantly from savanna fluxes. During a flood, saturated sites emitted CH4 at an average rate of 69.4 mg m-2 d-1. Flooded areas with a water depth of 0.3 - 0.4 m emitted CH4 from the water surface at rates between 0.48 and 466.3 mg m-2 d-1 with the highest emission occurring during summer. Emission rates were exponentially related to sediment temperature, which had a greater influence on the emission rate than the flood regime. The length of the dry period preceding the flood and the extent of a flood did not have a significant effect on CH4 fluxes from saturated and flooded sites. Emission rates were highest when the water level was between 0.1 m below the soil surface and 0.4 m above the soil surface, with emission rates declining to near zero as the water became deeper than 0.4 m. Savannas were estimated to consume an average of 0.04 g CH4 m-2 yr-1, with southern African savannas consuming 0.23 Tg CH4 yr-1. Saturated and flooded sites were estimated to produce 25.3 and 57.2 g CH4 m-2 yr-1, respectively. Southern African floodplains are estimated to produce between 0.2 and 10 Tg CH4 yr-1 (excluding the effects of vegetation-mediated emissions) and therefore produce more CH4 than the savannas consume.