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Phosphorus Regulation of Methane Oxidation in Water From Ice‐Covered Lakes
Author(s) -
Sawakuchi Henrique O.,
Martin Gaëtan,
Peura Sari,
Bertilsson Stefan,
Karlsson Jan,
Bastviken David
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: biogeosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8961
pISSN - 2169-8953
DOI - 10.1029/2020jg006190
Subject(s) - eutrophication , methane , anaerobic oxidation of methane , environmental chemistry , atmosphere (unit) , nutrient , phosphorus , environmental science , chemistry , meteorology , organic chemistry , physics
Winter methane (CH 4 ) accumulation in seasonally ice‐covered lakes can contribute to large episodic emissions to the atmosphere during spring ice melt. Biological methane oxidation can significantly mitigate such CH 4 emissions, but despite favorable CH 4 and O 2 concentrations, CH 4 oxidation appears constrained in some lakes for unknown reasons. Here we experimentally test the hypothesis that phosphorus (P) availability is limiting CH 4 oxidation, resulting in differences in ice‐out emissions among lakes. We observed a positive relationship between potential CH 4 oxidation and P concentration across 12 studied lakes and found an increase in CH 4 oxidation in response to P amendment, without any parallel change in the methanotrophic community composition. Hence, while an increase in sedimentary CH 4 production and ebullitive emissions may happen with eutrophication, our study indicates that the increase in P associated with eutrophication may also enhance CH 4 oxidation. The increase in CH 4 oxidation may hence play an important role in nutrient‐rich ice‐covered lakes where bubbles trapped under the ice may to a greater extent be oxidized, reducing the ice‐out emissions of CH 4 . This may be an important factor regulating CH 4 emissions from high latitude lakes.