Salinity causes widespread restriction of methane emissions from small inland waters

Cynthia Soued, Matthew J. Bogard (), Kerri Finlay, Lauren E. Bortolotti, Peter R. Leavitt, Pascal Badiou, Sara H. Knox, Sydney Jensen, Peka Mueller, Sung Ching Lee, Darian Ng, Björn Wissel, Chun Ngai Chan, Bryan Page and Paige Kowal
Additional contact information
Cynthia Soued: University of Lethbridge
Matthew J. Bogard: University of Lethbridge
Kerri Finlay: University of Regina
Lauren E. Bortolotti: Ducks Unlimited Canada
Peter R. Leavitt: University of Regina
Pascal Badiou: Ducks Unlimited Canada
Sara H. Knox: The University of British Columbia
Sydney Jensen: University of Regina
Peka Mueller: University of Lethbridge
Sung Ching Lee: The University of British Columbia
Darian Ng: The University of British Columbia
Björn Wissel: University of Regina
Chun Ngai Chan: University of Lethbridge
Bryan Page: Ducks Unlimited Canada
Paige Kowal: Ducks Unlimited Canada

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Inland waters are one of the largest natural sources of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, but emissions models and estimates were developed for solute-poor ecosystems and may not apply to salt-rich inland waters. Here we combine field surveys and eddy covariance measurements to show that salinity constrains microbial CH4 cycling through complex mechanisms, restricting aquatic emissions from one of the largest global hardwater regions (the Canadian Prairies). Existing models overestimated CH4 emissions from ponds and wetlands by up to several orders of magnitude, with discrepancies linked to salinity. While not significant for rivers and larger lakes, salinity interacted with organic matter availability to shape CH4 patterns in small lentic habitats. We estimate that excluding salinity leads to overestimation of emissions from small Canadian Prairie waterbodies by at least 81% ( ~ 1 Tg yr−1 CO2 equivalent), a quantity comparable to other major national emissions sources. Our findings are consistent with patterns in other hardwater landscapes, likely leading to an overestimation of global lentic CH4 emissions. Widespread salinization of inland waters may impact CH4 cycling and should be considered in future projections of aquatic emissions.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44715-3

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