Reduction of the temperature sensitivity of minerotrophic fen methane emissions by simulated glacial atmospheric carbon dioxide starvation

Here the interactive effects of temperature, a major controlling variable determining wetland CH₄ flux, and the low [CO₂]a of glacial intervals are investigated for the first time.

We measured the temperature dependence of CH₄ emissions from replicated mesocosms (n = 8 per CO₂ treatment) collected from a minerotrophic fen and an ombrotrophic bog incubated in either ambient (c. 400 ppm) or glacial (c. 200 ppm) [CO₂]a located in the United Kingdom. CH₄ fluxes were measured at 5°C, 10°C, 15°C, 20°C, and 25°C and then in reverse order over a 20 day period under each [CO₂]a treatment. Results showed that the Q10 temperature response of CH₄ emissions from the Carex/Juncus-dominated fen declined significantly by approximately 39% under glacial [CO₂]a (ambient [CO₂]a = 2.60, glacial [CO₂]a = 1.60; P 0.05).