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The interactive effect of Juncus effusus and water table position on mesocosm methanogenesis and methane emissions

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Abstract

Background and aims

Aerenchymatous plants can affect methane (CH4) emissions from wetland soils differently, and there is a need to understand specifically under which conditions plants enhance or attenuate CH4 emissions.

Methods

We used a mesocosm set-up to assess the interactive effect of three water table positions (0 cm, −10 cm and −20 cm) and the presence or absence of Juncus effusus L on in vitro soil methanogenesis and methane emissions.

Results

Soil methanogenesis and CH4 emission rates were significantly affected by water table position and vegetation, and the effect of vegetation depended on the water table position. At high water tables (−10 cm and 0 cm) soil methanogenesis and CH4 emissions were high and not significantly affected by vegetation, whereas at the low water table (−20 cm), methanogenesis and CH4 emission rates were lower in unvegetated soils than in soils with J. effusus.

Conclusions

Methane emissions from organic wetland soils at low water tables may be enhanced by J. effusus because of increased methanogenesis and because CH4 enters the roots in the deeper anaerobic layers and are transported through the aerenchymatous tissue of the plants to the atmosphere bypassing the methanotrophic upper layers of the soils.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Fahrudin Zec and Helge Bülow for assistance with the experimental set-up. The study was supported by the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Aarhus University, via a scholarship to Anders Henneberg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Building 1135, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anders Henneberg, Hans Brix & Brian K. Sorrell

Authors
  1. Anders Henneberg
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  2. Hans Brix
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  3. Brian K. Sorrell
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Correspondence to Anders Henneberg.

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Responsible Editor: Klaus Butterbach-Bahl.

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Henneberg, A., Brix, H. & Sorrell, B.K. The interactive effect of Juncus effusus and water table position on mesocosm methanogenesis and methane emissions. Plant Soil 400, 45–54 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2707-y

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