Abstract
In response to climate change, prolonged droughts in semiarid regions have increased; consequently, reservoir sediments have been more frequently exposed to the atmosphere. Because of the large proportion of drawdown areas, reservoir sediments are used for agricultural activity. Agricultural intensification creates new biochemically active spots that may enhance the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) after reservoir refilling. Here, we experimentally evaluated the influence of rewetting on CO2 and CH4 fluxes from the drawdown area of a Brazilian semiarid reservoir with and without agricultural activity. The observed CO2 and CH4 emissions were two and three times higher, respectively, in the sediment with agricultural activity. Higher values of organic carbon, organic matter, and nutrients in the crop-related sediment were the best predictors for the highest CO2 and CH4 emission rates. It is essential to better understand regional scenarios, such as emissions from semiarid regions, to refine the role of human-made reservoirs in the global C balance. Agricultural practices are becoming increasingly common because of extended droughts that keep reservoir sediment exposed to the atmosphere for longer periods. The response of sediments to crops suggests that land-use changes can promote positive and powerful climate feedback.
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References
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to André Luiz da Silva and Fabiana Araújo for assistance with sediments sampling; Gladson Rezende Marques, Suênia Campos, and Anelise Varela for assistance with laboratory analyses; Daniel Lima and Hérika Cavalcante for assistance with map; Ronaldo Angelini for assistance with statistical analyses; Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora for having provided all the necessary structures and materials for this research. We thank CNPq (Brazilian National Research Council) for the financial support of the Universal Project “Quality of water availability and proposition of mitigation techniques in the face of climate change in the Brazilian semiarid region” (Process Number 407783/2016-4). AMA and VB gratefully acknowledge continuous funding through Research Productivity Grant provided by CNPq (Processes 310033/2017-9 and 308652/2019-3). This research was financed in part by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior)—Finance Code 001.
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Conceptualization: André M. Amado; Vanessa Becker. Data analysis: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; Vanessa Becker. Data curation: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; José R. Paranaíba, Vanessa Becker. Experimental steps: Thaís L. Pinheiro; José R. Paranaíba; Gabrielle R. Quadra. Investigation: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; José R. Paranaíba; Gabrielle R. Quadra, Vanessa Becker. Methodology: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; José R. Paranaíba; Vanessa Becker. Resources: André M. Amado; Vanessa Becker. Supervision: André M. Amado; Vanessa Becker. Writing—original draft: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; Vanessa Becker. Writing—review and editing: Thaís L. Pinheiro; André M. Amado; José R. Paranaíba; Gabrielle R. Quadra, Nathan Barros, Vanessa Becker.
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Pinheiro, T.L., Amado, A.M., Paranaíba, J.R. et al. Agricultural activity enhances CO2 and CH4 emissions after sediment rewetting in a tropical semiarid reservoir. Hydrobiologia 849, 3979–3993 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04714-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04714-7