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Tree stem methane emissions from subtropical lowland forest (Melaleuca quinquenervia) regulated by local and seasonal hydrology

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Abstract

Tree stem mediated methane emissions represent a potentially important yet poorly constrained source of atmospheric methane. Here we present the first ever quantification of tree stem methane emissions from Melaleuca quinquenervia, a widespread iconic Australian lowland tree and globally invasive species. Under two distinct hydrological conditions (wet and dry) we captured 431 tree stem flux measurements encompassing six different vertical stem heights along a 50 m topo-gradient transect, separated into three distinct hydrological zones (upper, transitional and lower). The tree stem methane fluxes closely reflected local topography/hydrology and ranged from − 30.0 to 123,227 µmol m−2 day−1, with the maximum values amongst the highest values reported to date. The highest methane emissions were observed during wet conditions, within the inundated lower zone and from near the tree stem bases and water table. The average methane flux per tree (scaled to 1 m of stem) for the transitional and lower zones was 52-fold and 46-fold higher during wet conditions compared to dry, whereas the upper zone emissions changed little between seasons. Adjacent soil fluxes followed similar trends along the hydrology gradient with the upper zone tree stem emissions offsetting the adjacent soil methane sink capacity. A clear trend of sharply decreasing methane emissions with stem-height suggests a soil methane origin. A 45-h time-series of two trees within the lower zone revealed three to fourfold diel variability, with elevated morning-time fluxes. Overall, the study revealed that seasonal hydrological conditions and topo-gradient substantially regulated the methane emissions from M. quinquenervia and that this previously overlooked pathway should be accounted for within wetland methane budgets, especially during inundated conditions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bob McDonnell and Mid-Coast Council for fieldwork assistance and Roz Hagan for laboratory assistance.

Funding

This work was funded by the ARC (LP160100061 and DP180101285). LJ and DT acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council that partially funds their salaries (LP160100061 and DE180100535 respectively).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SCU Geoscience, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    Luke C. Jeffrey, Damien T. Maher, Douglas R. Tait, Sebastian Euler & Scott G. Johnston

  2. School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    Damien T. Maher

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  1. Luke C. Jeffrey
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Contributions

SJ and LJ conceived the study. SJ, DT, SE and LJ conducted the fieldwork. SJ, DM, DT assisted LJ with analysis and interpretation. LJ wrote the first draft with assistance from SJ. All authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript. We thank one anonymous referee and Pat Megonigal, for their constructive review comments and suggestions which helped to strengthen the manuscript and thank the associate editor Jan Mulder for coordinating the review process.

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Correspondence to Luke C. Jeffrey.

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Jeffrey, L.C., Maher, D.T., Tait, D.R. et al. Tree stem methane emissions from subtropical lowland forest (Melaleuca quinquenervia) regulated by local and seasonal hydrology. Biogeochemistry 151, 273–290 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00726-y

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