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Carbon availability and soil moisture drive the Arctic soil methane sink

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Arctic uplands consume atmospheric methane, but whereas methane emissions are reasonably well studied, Arctic soil methane uptake is poorly understood. High-resolution measurements show that the Arctic soil methane sink might currently be underestimated, and is driven by soil moisture and labile carbon availability, implying increased methane uptake with climate change.

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Fig. 1: Methane fluxes and the relative importance of abiotic drivers.

References

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This is a summary of: Voigt, C. et al. Arctic soil methane sink increases with drier conditions and higher ecosystem respiration. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01785-3 (2023).

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Carbon availability and soil moisture drive the Arctic soil methane sink. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 1027–1028 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01787-1

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