Abstract
Biogeochemical processes in wetland soils are complex and are driven by a microbiological community that competes for resources and affects the soil chemistry. Depending on the availability of various electron acceptors, the high carbon input to wetland soils can make them important sources of methane production and emissions. There are two significant pathways for methanogenesis: acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. The hydrogenotrophic pathway is dependent on the availability of dissolved hydrogen gas (H2), and there is significant competition for available H2. This study presents simultaneous measurements of dissolved methane and H2 over a 2-year period at three tidal marshes in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Methane reservoirs show a significant correlation with dissolved organic carbon, temperature, and methane emissions, whereas the H2 concentrations measured with dialysis samplers do not show significant relationships with these field variables. Data presented in this study show that increased dissolved H2 reservoirs in wetland soils correlate with decreased methane reservoirs, which is consistent with studies that have shown that elevated levels of H2 inhibit methane production by inhibiting propionate fermentation, resulting in less acetate production and hence decreasing the contribution of acetoclastic methanogenesis to the overall production of methane.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achtnich, C., Friedhelm, B., & Conrad, R. (1995). Competition for electron donors among nitrate reducers, ferric iron reducers, sulfate reducers, and methanogens in anoxic paddy soil. Biol Fertil Soils Biology and Fertility of Soils, 19(1), 65–72.
Altor, A., & Mitsch, W. J. (2006). Methane flux from created riparian marshes: relationship to intermittent versus continuous inundation and emergent macrophytes. Ecological Engineering, 28(3), 224–234.
Bridgham, S., Cadillo-Quiroz, H., Keller, J. K., & Zhuang, Q. (2013). Methane emissions from wetlands: biogeochemical, microbial, and modeling perspectives from local to global scales. Global Change Biology, 19(5), 1325–1346.
Brook E, Archer D, Dlugokencky E, Frolking S, Lawrence D (2008). Potential for abrupt changes in atmospheric methane. Abrupt climate change: A report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA, 360–452.
Brown, D. G., Komlos, J., & Jaffé, P. R. (2005). Simultaneous utilization of acetate and hydrogen by Geobacter sulfurreducens and implications for use of hydrogen as an indicator of redox conditions. Environmental Science & Technology, 39(9), 3069–3076.
Chin, K. J., & Conrad, R. (1995). Intermediary metabolism in methanogenic paddy soil and the influence of temperature. FEMS Microbio. Eco., 18, 85–102.
Conrad, R., Bak, F., Seitz, H. J., Thebrath, B., Mayer, H. P., & Schutz, H. (1989). Hydrogen turnover by psychotropic homoacetogenic and mesophilic methanogenic bacteria in anoxic paddy soil and lake sediment. FEMS Microbio. Ecology, 62, 285–294.
Conrad, R., Klose, M., & Claus, P. (2002). Pathway of CH4 formation in anoxic rice field soil and rice roots determined by 13C-stable isotope fractionation. Chemosphere, 47(8), 797–806.
ElBishlawi, H., Shin, J. Y., & Jaffe, P. R. (2013). Trace metal dynamics in the sediments of a constructed and natural urban tidal marsh: the role of iron, sulfide, and organic complexation. Ecological Engineering, 58, 133–141.
Glissmann, K., & Conrad, R. (2000). Fermentation pattern of methanogenic degradation of rice straw in anoxic paddy soil. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 31(2), 117–126.
Glissman, K., Chin, K. J., Casper, P., & Conrad, R. (2004). Methanogenic pathway and archael community structure in the sediment of eutrophic Lake Dagow: effect of temperature. Microbial Ecology, 48, 389–399.
Hesslein, R. (1976). An in situ sampler for close interval pore water studies. Limnology and Oceanography, 21(6), 912–914.
Karadagli, F., & Rittmann, B. E. (2007). Thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of the H2 threshold for Methanobacterium bryantii M.o.H. Biodegradation, 18, 439–452.
Komlos, J., & Jaffé, P. R. (2004). Effect of iron bioavailability on dissolved hydrogen concentrations during microbial iron reduction. Biodegradation, 15(5), 315–325.
Laanbroek, H. J. (2009). Methane emission from natural wetlands: interplay between emergent macrophytes and soil microbial processes. A mini-review. Annals of Botany, 105(1), 141–153.
Li, T., Huang, Y., Zhang, W., & Song, C. (2010). CH4MODwetland: a biogeophysical model for simulating methane emissions from natural wetlands. Ecological Modeling, 221(4), 666–680.
Liu, F., & Conrad, R. (2011). Chemolithotrophic acetogenic H2/CO2 utilization in Italian rice field soil. The ISME Journal, 5, 1526–1539.
Macdonald, L., Paull, J. S., & Jaffé, P. R. (2012). Enhanced semipermanent dialysis samplers for long-term environmental monitoring in saturated sediments. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185(5), 3613–3624.
Pal, D., & Jaffé, P. R. (2016). Modeling the inhibition of dissolved H2 on propionate fermentation and methanogenesis in wetland sediments. Ecological Modelling, 322, 115–123.
Pal, D. S., Reid, M. C., & Jaffé, P. R. (2014). Impact of hurricane sandy on CH 4 released from vegetated and unvegetated wetland microsites. Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 1(9), 372–375.
Reid, M. C., & Jaffé, P. R. (2012). Gas-phase and transpiration-driven mechanisms for volatilization through wetland macrophytes. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(10), 5344–5352.
Reid, M. C., & Jaffé, P. R. (2013). A push–pull test to measure root uptake of volatile chemicals from wetland soils. Environmental Science & Technology, 47(7), 3190–3198.
Reid, M. C., Tripathee, R., Schäfer, K. V. R., & Jaffé, P. R. (2013). Tidal marsh methane dynamics: difference in seasonal lags in emissions driven by storage in vegetated versus unvegetated sediments. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 118, 1802–1813.
Schutz, H., Conrad, R., Goodwin, S., & Sieler, W. (1988). Emission of hydrogen from deep and shallow freshwater environments. Biogeochemisty, 5, 295–311.
Whiting, G. J., & Chanton, J. P. (1993). Primary production control of methane emission from wetlands. Nature, 364, 794–795.
Whiting, G. J., & Chanton, J. P. (2001). Greenhouse carbon balance of wetlands: methane emission versus carbon sequestration. Tellus, B53(5), 521–528.
Xu, S., Jaffé, P. R., & Mauzerall, D. L. (2007). A process-based model for methane emission from flooded rice paddy systems. Ecological Modelling, 205, 475–491.
Yamamoto, A., Hirota, M., Suzuki, S., Oe, Y., Zhang, P., & Mariko, S. (2009). Effects of tidal fluctuations on CO2 and CH4 fluxes in the littoral zone of a brackish-water Lake. Limnology, 10(3), 229–237.
Yavitt, J. B. (2010). Cryptic wetlands. Nature Geoscience, 3, 749–750.
Funding
This work was supported by the CBET-1133074, CBET 1033639, CBET 1133275, CBET 1311713, CBET 1033451, CBET 1311547, and CBET-1133281, NSF Collaborative Research: RAPID Award no. 1311796.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Schematic of the dialysis sample “peepers” (Macdonald et al. 2012)
Individual H2 fluxes from every site and vegetation plotted versus month demonstrating that H2 emissions occur throughout the year
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pal, D.S., Tripathee, R., Reid, M.C. et al. Simultaneous measurements of dissolved CH4 and H2 in wetland soils. Environ Monit Assess 190, 176 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6552-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6552-3