Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Temporal and spatial variations of greenhouse gas fluxes from a tidal mangrove wetland in Southeast China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tidal mangrove wetlands are a source of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O); but considering the high productivity of mangroves, they represent a significant sink for carbon dioxide (CO2). An exotic plant Spartina alterniflora has invaded east China over the last few decades, threatening these coastal mangrove ecosystems. However, the atmospheric gas fluxes in mangroves are poorly characterized and the impact of biological invasion on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in the wetland remains unclear. In this study, the temporal and spatial dynamics of key GHG fluxes (CO2, CH4, and N2O) at an unvegetated mudflat, cordgrass (S. alterniflora), and mangrove (Kandelia obovata) sites along an estuary of the Jiulong River in Southeast China were investigated over a 2-year period. The CO2 and CH4 fluxes demonstrated a seasonal and vegetation-dependent variation while N2O fluxes showed no such dependent pattern. Air temperature was the main factor influencing CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Cumulative global warming potential (GWP) ranked in the order of mangrove > cordgrass > mudflat and summer > spring > autumn > winter. Moreover, CH4 accounted for the largest proportion (68 %) of GWP, indicating its dominant contribution to the warming potential in mangroves. Notwithstanding the lack of information on plant coverage, cordgrass invasion exhibited a minor influence on GHG emissions. These findings support the notion that mangrove forests are net accumulation sites for GHGs. As vegetation showed considerable effects on fluxes, more information about the significance of vegetation type with a special emphasis on the effects of invasive plants is crucial.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen DE, Dalal RC, Rennenberg H, Meyer RL, Reeves S, Schmidt S (2007) Spatial and temporal variation of nitrous oxide and methane flux between subtropical mangrove sediments and the atmosphere. Soil Biol Biochem 39:622–631

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Allen D, Dalal R, Rennenberg H, Schmidt S (2011) Seasonal variation in nitrous oxide and methane emissions from subtropical estuary and coastal mangrove sediments, Australia. Plant Biol 13:126–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alongi DM (2014) Carbon cycling and storage in mangrove forests. Ann Rev Mar Sci 6:195–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alongi D, Pfitzner J, Trott L, Tirendi F, Dixon P, Klumpp D (2005) Rapid sediment accumulation and microbial mineralization in forests of the mangrove Kandelia candel in the Jiulongjiang Estuary, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 63:605–618

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • An S, Gu B, Zhou C, Wang Z, Deng Z, Zhi Y, Li H, Chen L, Yu D, Liu Y (2007) Spartina invasion in China: implications for invasive species management and future research. Weed Res 47:183–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angeloni NL, Jankowski KJ, Tuchman NC, Kelly JJ (2006) Effects of an invasive cattail species (Typha × glauca) on sediment nitrogen and microbial community composition in a freshwater wetland. FEMS Microbiol Lett 263:86–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bañeras L, Ruiz-Rueda O, López-Flores R, Quintana X, Hallin S (2012) The role of plant type and salinity in the selection for the denitrifying community structure in the rhizosphere of wetland vegetation. Int Microbiol 15:89–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Bannert A, Kleineidam K, Wissing L, Mueller-Niggemann C, Vogelsang V, Welzl G, Cao Z, Schloter M (2011) Changes in diversity and functional gene abundances of microbial communities involved in nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification in a tidal wetland versus paddy soils cultivated for different time periods. Appl Environ Microbiol 77:6109–6116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chanda A, Akhand A, Manna S, Dutta S, Das I, Hazra S, Rao K, Dadhwal V (2014) Measuring daytime CO2 fluxes from the inter-tidal mangrove soils of Indian Sundarbans. Environ Earth Sci 72:417–427

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen G, Tam N, Ye Y (2010) Summer fluxes of atmospheric greenhouse gases N2O, CH4 and CO2 from mangrove soil in South China. Sci Total Environ 408:2761–2767

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GC, Tam NF, Ye Y (2012) Spatial and seasonal variations of atmospheric N2O and CO2 fluxes from a subtropical mangrove swamp and their relationships with soil characteristics. Soil Biol Biochem 48:175–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GC, Ulumuddin YI, Pramudji S, Chen SY, Chen B, Ye Y, Ou DY, Ma ZY, Huang H, Wang JK (2014) Rich soil carbon and nitrogen but low atmospheric greenhouse gas fluxes from North Sulawesi mangrove swamps in Indonesia. Sci Total Environ 487:91–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colmer TD, Flowers TJ (2008) Flooding tolerance in halophytes. New Phytol 179:964–974

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding W, Cai Z, Tsuruta H (2004) Cultivation, nitrogen fertilization, and set-aside effects on methane uptake in a drained marsh soil in Northeast China. Global Change Biol 10:1801–1809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta M, Chowdhury C, Jana T, Mukhopadhyay S (2013) Dynamics and exchange fluxes of methane in the estuarine mangrove environment of the Sundarbans, NE coast of India. Atmos Environ 77:631–639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forster P, Ramaswamy V, Artaxo P, Berntsen T, Betts R, Fahey DW, Haywood J, Lean J, Lowe DC, Myhre G (2007) Changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 106

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleason RA, Tangen BA, Browne BA, Euliss NH Jr (2009) Greenhouse gas flux from cropland and restored wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region. Soil Biol Biochem 41:2501–2507

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkes CV, Wren IF, Herman DJ, Firestone MK (2005) Plant invasion alters nitrogen cycling by modifying the soil nitrifying community. Ecol Lett 8:976–985

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendriks D, Jv H, Dolman A, Van der Molen M (2007) The full greenhouse gas balance of an abandoned peat meadow. Biogeosci Discuss 4:277–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao-Kniffin J, Freyre DS, Balser TC (2011) Increased methane emissions from an invasive wetland plant under elevated carbon dioxide levels. Appl Soil Ecol 48:309–312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeney D, Fillery I, Marx G (1979) Effect of temperature on the gaseous nitrogen products of denitrification in a silt loam soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 43:1124–1128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keppler F, Hamilton JT, Braß M, Röckmann T (2006) Methane emissions from terrestrial plants under aerobic conditions. Nature 439:187–191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krauss KW, Whitbeck JL (2012) Soil greenhouse gas fluxes during wetland forest retreat along the lower Savannah River, Georgia (USA). Wetlands 32:73–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreuzwieser J, Buchholz J, Rennenberg H (2003) Emission of methane and nitrous oxide by Australian mangrove ecosystems. Plant Biol 5:423–431

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kristensen E, King G, Holmer M, Banta G, Jensen M, Hansen K, Bussarawit N (1994) Sulfate reduction, acetate turnover and carbon metabolism in sediments of the Ao Nam Bor mangrove, Phuket, Thailand. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 109:245–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laanbroek HJ (2010) Methane emission from natural wetlands: interplay between emergent macrophytes and soil microbial processes. A mini-review. Ann Bot 105:141–153

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Le Mer J, Roger P (2001) Production, oxidation, emission and consumption of methane by soils: a review. Eur J Soil Biol 37:25–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart K, Bunge M, Ratering S et al (2012) Evidence for methane production by saprotrophic fungi. Nat Commun 3:1046

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold A, Marchand C, Deborde J, Chaduteau C, Allenbach M (2013) Influence of mangrove zonation on CO2 fluxes at the sediment–air interface (New Caledonia). Geoderma 202:62–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold A, Marchand C, Deborde J, Allenbach M (2015) Temporal variability of CO2 fluxes at the sediment-air interface in mangroves (New Caledonia). Sci Total Environ 502:617–626

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liikanen A, Silvennoinen H, Karvo A (2009) Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes in two coastal wetlands in the northeastern Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea. Boreal Environ Res 14:351–368

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marton JM, Herbert ER, Craft CB (2012) Effects of salinity on denitrification and greenhouse gas production from laboratory-incubated tidal forest soils. Wetlands 32:347–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molstad L, Dörsch P, Bakken LR (2007) Robotized incubation system for monitoring gases (O2, NO, N2O N2) in denitrifying cultures. J Microbiol Meth 71:202–211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mori A, Hojito M, Kondo H, Matsunami H, Scholefield D (2005) Effects of plant species on CH4 and N2O fluxes from a volcanic grassland soil in Nasu, Japan. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 51:19–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morse JL, Ardón M, Bernhardt ES (2012) Greenhouse gas fluxes in southeastern US coastal plain wetlands under contrasting land uses. Ecol Appl 22:264–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mozdzer TJ, Megonigal JP (2013) Increased methane emissions by an introduced Phragmites australis lineage under global change. Wetlands 33:609–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oremland RS, Polcin S (1982) Methanogenesis and sulfate reduction: competitive and noncompetitive substrates in estuarine sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 44:1270–1276

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Philippot L, Hallin S, Börjesson G, Baggs E (2009) Biochemical cycling in the rhizosphere having an impact on global change. Plant Soil 321:61–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pi N, Tam N, Wu Y, Wong M (2009) Root anatomy and spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss of eight true mangrove species. Aquat Bot 90:222–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picek T, Čížková H, Dušek J (2007) Greenhouse gas emissions from a constructed wetland-plants as important sources of carbon. Ecol Eng 31:98–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pingak GMF, Sutanto H, Akhdiya A, Rusmana I (2014) Effectivity of methanotrophic bacteria and Ochrobactrum anthropi as biofertilizer and emission reducer of CH4 and N2O in inorganic paddy fields. J Med Bioeng 3:217–221

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poungparn S, Komiyama A, Tanaka A, Sangtiean T, Maknual C, Kato S, Tanapermpool P, Patanaponpaiboon P (2009) Carbon dioxide emission through soil respiration in a secondary mangrove forest of eastern Thailand. J Trop Ecol 25:393–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdy K, Nedwell D, Embley T (2003) Analysis of the sulfate-reducing bacterial and methanogenic archaeal populations in contrasting Antarctic sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 69:3181–3191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ravishankara A, Daniel JS, Portmann RW (2009) Nitrous oxide (N2O): The dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. Science 326:123–125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel JP (1995) Plant transport and methane production as controls on methane flux from arctic wet meadow tundra. Biogeochemistry 28:183–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sha C, Mitsch WJ, Mander Ü, Lu J, Batson J, Zhang L, He W (2011) Methane emissions from freshwater riverine wetlands. Ecol Eng 37:16–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Søvik A, Kløve B (2007) Emission of N2O and CH4 from a constructed wetland in southeastern Norway. Sci Total Environ 380:28–37

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ström L, Ekberg A, Mastepanov M, Røjle Christensen T (2003) The effect of vascular plants on carbon turnover and methane emissions from a tundra wetland. Global Change Biol 9:1185–1192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subke J-A, Reichstein M, Tenhunen JD (2003) Explaining temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux in a mature spruce forest in Southern Germany. Soil Biol Biochem 35:1467–1483

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teiter S, Mander Ü (2005) Emission of N2O, N2, CH4, and CO2 from constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and from riparian buffer zones. Ecol Eng 25:528–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiela I, Bowen JL, York JK (2001) Mangrove forests: one of the world’s threatened major tropical environments at least 35% of the area of mangrove forests has been lost in the past two decades, losses that exceed those for tropical rain forests and coral reefs, two other well-known threatened environments. Bioscience 51:807–815

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Q, An S, Ma Z, Zhao B, Chen J, Li B (2006) Invasive Spartina alterniflora: biology, ecology and management. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 44:559–588 (in Chinese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang HT, Yang XR, Zheng TL (2013a) Impact of simulated tide and vegetation on the wetland greenhouse gases fluxes. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiae 33:3376–3385 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang ZP, Chang SX, Chen H, Han XG (2013b) Widespread non-microbial methane production by organic compounds and the impact of environmental stresses. Earth-Sci Rev 127:193–202

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang HT, Su JQ, Zheng TL, Yang XR (2014) Impacts of vegetation, tidal process, and depth on the activities, abundances, and community compositions of denitrifiers in mangrove sediment. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98:9375–9387

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Su J, Zheng T, Yang X (2015) Insights into the role of plant on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in the mangrove ecosystem. J Soils Sediment 15:1212–1223

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu K, Faulkner SP, Baldwin MJ (2008) Effect of hydrological conditions on nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide dynamics in a bottomland hardwood forest and its implication for soil carbon sequestration. Global Change Biol 14:798–812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu X, Yang J, Liu L, Tian Y, Yu Z (2015) Effects of Spartina alterniflora invasion on biogenic elements in a subtropical coastal mangrove wetland. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:3107–3115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Ding W, Cai Z, Valerie P, Han F (2010) Response of methane emission to invasion of Spartina alterniflora and exogenous N deposition in the coastal salt marsh. Atmos Environ 44:4588–4594

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang QF, Peng JJ, Chen Q, Li XF, Xu CY, Yin HB, Yu S (2011) Impacts of Spartina alterniflora invasion on abundance and composition of ammonia oxidizers in estuarine sediment. J Soils Sediments 11:1020–1031

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zou J, Huang Y, Jiang J, Zheng X, Sass RL (2005) A 3-year field measurement of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice paddies in China: Effects of water regime, crop residue, and fertilizer application. Global Biogeochem Cy 19:GB2021. doi:10.1029/2004GB002401

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by The Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB15020302 and XDB15020402), The Natural Science Foundation of China (41401297 and 41376119), and The International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2011DFB91710). We thank Lars Molstad, UMB Nitrogen group, and Norwegian University of Life Sciences for providing software and constructing the robotized incubation system for analyzing gas kinetics. We would like to thank Prof. Yong-Guan Zhu from The Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences for his valuable suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript. Finally, we also would like to thank Prof. I. J. Hodgkiss from the University of Hong Kong for his help with the writing of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang’an South Road, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Haitao Wang & Tianling Zheng

  2. Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Haitao Wang, Xiaoqing Yu, Jun Yang & Xiaoru Yang

  3. Suntar Membrane Technology (Xiamen) Co., Ltd., Suntar Park Zhongyacheng Xinglin, Xiamen, 361022, China

    Guanshun Liao

  4. Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Melissa D’Souza

Authors
  1. Haitao Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guanshun Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melissa D’Souza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoqing Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jun Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xiaoru Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Tianling Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiaoru Yang or Tianling Zheng.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Gerhard Lammel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, H., Liao, G., D’Souza, M. et al. Temporal and spatial variations of greenhouse gas fluxes from a tidal mangrove wetland in Southeast China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 1873–1885 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5440-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5440-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation