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Pérez-Barbería FJ. Scaling methane emissions in ruminants and global estimates in wild populations. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 579:1572-1580. [PMID: 27923575 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Revised: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Methane (CH4) emissions by human activities have more than doubled since the 1700s, and they contribute to global warming. One of the sources of CH4 is produced by incomplete oxidation of feed in the ruminant's gut. Domestic ruminants produce most of the emissions from animal sources, but emissions by wild ruminants have been poorly estimated. This study (i) scales CH4 against body mass in 503 experiments in ruminants fed herbage, and assesses the effect of different sources of variation, using published and new data; and (ii) it uses these models to produce global estimates of CH4 emissions from wild ruminants. The incorporation of phylogeny, diet and technique of measuring in to a model that scales log10 CH4gd-1 against log10 body mass (kg), reduces the slope, from 1.075 to 0.868, making it not significantly steeper than the scaling coefficient of metabolic requirements to body mass. Scaling models that include dry matter intake (DMI) and dietary fiber indicate that although both increase CH4, dietary fiber depresses CH4 as the levels of DMI increases. Cattle produces more CH4 per unit of DMI than red deer, sheep or goat, and there are no significant differences between CH4 produced by red deer and sheep. The average estimates of global emissions from wild ruminants calculated using different models are smaller (1.094-2.687Tgy-1) than those presented in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (15Tgyr-1). Potential causes to explain such discrepancy are the uncertainty on the world's wild ruminant population size, and the use of methane output from cattle, a high methane producer, as representative methane output of wild ruminants. The main limitation researchers' face in calculating accurate global CH4 emissions from wild ungulates is a lack of reliable information on their population sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- F J Pérez-Barbería
- Grupo PAIDI RNM118, Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla 41092, Spain; Ungulate Research Unit, CRCP, University of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain; James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
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Mitchell L, Brook E, Lee JE, Buizert C, Sowers T. Constraints on the Late Holocene Anthropogenic Contribution to the Atmospheric Methane Budget. Science 2013; 342:964-6. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1238920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Mitchell LE, Brook EJ, Sowers T, McConnell JR, Taylor K. Multidecadal variability of atmospheric methane, 1000–1800 C.E. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010jg001441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Weber SL, Drury AJ, Toonen WHJ, van Weele M. Wetland methane emissions during the Last Glacial Maximum estimated from PMIP2 simulations: Climate, vegetation, and geographic controls. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009jd012110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Gauci V, Blake S, Stevenson DS, Highwood EJ. Halving of the northern wetland CH4source by a large Icelandic volcanic eruption. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007jg000499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Whiticar M, Schaefer H. Constraining past global tropospheric methane budgets with carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios in ice. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2007; 365:1793-828. [PMID: 17513274 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2007.2048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Upon closer inspection, the classical view of the synchronous relationship between tropospheric methane mixing ratio and Greenland temperature observed in ice samples reveals clearly discernable variations in the magnitude of this response during the Late Pleistocene (<50kyr BP). During the Holocene this relationship appears to decouple, indicating that other factors have modulated the methane budget in the past 10kyr BP. The delta13CH4 and deltaD-CH4 of tropospheric methane recorded in ice samples provide a useful constraint on the palaeomethane budget estimations. Anticipated changes in palaeoenvironmental conditions are recorded as changes in the isotope signals of the methane precursors, which are then translated into past global delta13CH4 and deltaD-CH4 signatures. We present the first methane budgets for the late glacial period that are constrained by dual stable isotopes. The overall isotope variations indicate that the Younger Dryas (YD) and Preindustrial Holocene have methane that is 13C- and 2H-enriched, relative to Modern. The shift is small for delta13CH4 (approx. 1 per thousand) but greater for deltaD-CH4 (approx. 9 per thousand). The YD delta13CH4-deltaD-CH4 record shows a remarkable relationship between them from 12.15 to 11.52kyr BP. The corresponding C- and H-isotope mass balances possibly indicate fluctuating emissions of thermogenic gas. This delta13CH4-deltaD-CH4 relationship breaks down during the YD-Preboreal transition. In both age cases, catastrophic releases of hydrates with Archaeal isotope signatures can be ruled out. Thermogenic clathrate releases are possible during the YD period, but so are conventional natural gas seepages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Whiticar
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
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Bergamaschi P, Frankenberg C, Meirink JF, Krol M, Dentener F, Wagner T, Platt U, Kaplan JO, Körner S, Heimann M, Dlugokencky EJ, Goede A. Satellite chartography of atmospheric methane from SCIAMACHY on board ENVISAT: 2. Evaluation based on inverse model simulations. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1029/2006jd007268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 232] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Kirschbaum MUF, Bruhn D, Etheridge DM, Evans JR, Farquhar GD, Gifford RM, Paul KI, Winters AJ. A comment on the quantitative significance of aerobic methane release by plants. FUNCTIONAL PLANT BIOLOGY : FPB 2006; 33:521-530. [PMID: 32689259 DOI: 10.1071/fp06051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2006] [Accepted: 03/28/2006] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A recent study by Keppler et al. (2006; Nature 439, 187-191) demonstrated CH4 emission from living and dead plant tissues under aerobic conditions. This work included some calculations to extrapolate the findings from the laboratory to the global scale and led various commentators to question the value of planting trees as a greenhouse mitigation option. The experimental work of Keppler et al. (2006) appears to be largely sound, although some concerns remain about the quantification of emission rates. However, whilst accepting their basic findings, we are critical of the method used for extrapolating results to a global scale. Using the same basic information, we present alternative calculations to estimate global aerobic plant CH4 emissions as 10-60 Mt CH4 year-1. This estimate is much smaller than the 62-236 Mt CH4 year-1 reported in the original study and can be more readily reconciled within the uncertainties in the established sources and sinks in the global CH4 budget. We also assessed their findings in terms of their possible relevance for planting trees as a greenhouse mitigation option. We conclude that consideration of aerobic CH4 emissions from plants would reduce the benefit of planting trees by between 0 and 4.4%. Hence, any offset from CH4 emission is small in comparison to the significant benefit from carbon sequestration. However, much critical information is still lacking about aerobic CH4 emission from plants. For example, we do not yet know the underlying mechanism for aerobic CH4 emission, how CH4 emissions change with light, temperature and the physiological state of leaves, whether emissions change over time under constant conditions, whether they are related to photosynthesis and how they relate to the chemical composition of biomass. Therefore, the present calculations must be seen as a preliminary attempt to assess the global significance from a basis of limited information and are likely to be revised as further information becomes available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miko U F Kirschbaum
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Dan Bruhn
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - David M Etheridge
- CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, PMB 1, Aspendale, Vic. 3195, Australia
| | - John R Evans
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Graham D Farquhar
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Roger M Gifford
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Keryn I Paul
- Ensis, PO Box E4008, Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia
| | - Anthony J Winters
- Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, GPO Box 475, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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Keppler F, Hamilton JTG, Brass M, Röckmann T. Methane emissions from terrestrial plants under aerobic conditions. Nature 2006; 439:187-91. [PMID: 16407949 DOI: 10.1038/nature04420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 290] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2005] [Accepted: 11/03/2005] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Methane is an important greenhouse gas and its atmospheric concentration has almost tripled since pre-industrial times. It plays a central role in atmospheric oxidation chemistry and affects stratospheric ozone and water vapour levels. Most of the methane from natural sources in Earth's atmosphere is thought to originate from biological processes in anoxic environments. Here we demonstrate using stable carbon isotopes that methane is readily formed in situ in terrestrial plants under oxic conditions by a hitherto unrecognized process. Significant methane emissions from both intact plants and detached leaves were observed during incubation experiments in the laboratory and in the field. If our measurements are typical for short-lived biomass and scaled on a global basis, we estimate a methane source strength of 62-236 Tg yr(-1) for living plants and 1-7 Tg yr(-1) for plant litter (1 Tg = 10(12) g). We suggest that this newly identified source may have important implications for the global methane budget and may call for a reconsideration of the role of natural methane sources in past climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Keppler
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
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Ferretti DF, Miller JB, White JWC, Etheridge DM, Lassey KR, Lowe DC, Macfarling Meure CM, Dreier MF, Trudinger CM, van Ommen TD, Langenfelds RL. Unexpected Changes to the Global Methane Budget over the Past 2000 Years. Science 2005; 309:1714-7. [PMID: 16151008 DOI: 10.1126/science.1115193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 272] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
We report a 2000-year Antarctic ice-core record of stable carbon isotope measurements in atmospheric methane (delta13CH4). Large delta13CH4 variations indicate that the methane budget varied unexpectedly during the late preindustrial Holocene (circa 0 to 1700 A.D.). During the first thousand years (0 to 1000 A.D.), delta13CH4 was at least 2 per mil enriched compared to expected values, and during the following 700 years, an about 2 per mil depletion occurred. Our modeled methane source partitioning implies that biomass burning emissions were high from 0 to 1000 A.D. but reduced by almost approximately 40% over the next 700 years. We suggest that both human activities and natural climate change influenced preindustrial biomass burning emissions and that these emissions have been previously understated in late preindustrial Holocene methane budget research.
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Affiliation(s)
- D F Ferretti
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
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Gauci V, Matthews E, Dise N, Walter B, Koch D, Granberg G, Vile M. Sulfur pollution suppression of the wetland methane source in the 20th and 21st centuries. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004; 101:12583-7. [PMID: 15297612 PMCID: PMC515100 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0404412101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2004] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural wetlands form the largest source of methane (CH(4)) to the atmosphere. Emission of this powerful greenhouse gas from wetlands is known to depend on climate, with increasing temperature and rainfall both expected to increase methane emissions. This study, combining our field and controlled environment manipulation studies in Europe and North America, reveals an additional control: an emergent pattern of increasing suppression of methane (CH(4)) emission from peatlands with increasing sulfate (SO(4)(2-)-S) deposition, within the range of global acid deposition. We apply a model of this relationship to demonstrate the potential effect of changes in global sulfate deposition from 1960 to 2080 on both northern peatland and global wetland CH(4) emissions. We estimate that sulfur pollution may currently counteract climate-induced growth in the wetland source, reducing CH(4) emissions by approximately 15 Tg or 8% smaller than it would be in the absence of global acid deposition. Our findings suggest that by 2030 sulfur pollution may be sufficient to reduce CH(4) emissions by 26 Tg or 15% of the total wetland source, a proportion as large as other components of the CH(4) budget that have until now received far greater attention. We conclude that documented increases in atmospheric CH(4) concentration since the late 19th century are likely due to factors other than the global warming of wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Gauci
- Department of Earth Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom.
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Lelieveld J, Peters W, Dentener FJ, Krol MC. Stability of tropospheric hydroxyl chemistry. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2002. [DOI: 10.1029/2002jd002272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. Lelieveld
- Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry; Mainz Germany
| | - W. Peters
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research; Utrecht Netherlands
| | - F. J. Dentener
- Joint Research Centre; Environment Institute; Ispra Italy
| | - M. C. Krol
- Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research; Utrecht Netherlands
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Tohjima Y. Analysis and presentation of in situ atmospheric methane measurements from Cape Ochi-ishi and Hateruma Island. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2002. [DOI: 10.1029/2001jd001003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Walter BP, Heimann M, Matthews E. Modeling modern methane emissions from natural wetlands: 1. Model description and results. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2001. [DOI: 10.1029/2001jd900165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 186] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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