Seasonal Dynamics of Methane Pathways Along a Hydrogeomorphic Peatland Gradient

dc.contributor.advisorBridgham, Scott
dc.contributor.authorMcAllister, Steven
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-27T18:18:20Z
dc.date.issued2016-10-27
dc.description.abstractNorthern peatlands occupy a very small proportion of the Earth’s surface but contain nearly a third of the world’s soil organic carbon. These wetland systems produce substantial fluxes of CH4, a potent greenhouse gas, and are expected to experience particularly high annual mean temperature increases as global climate change proceeds, which could result in a significant positive feedback. Using radioisotope labeling, we quantified the rates of two pathways of CH4 production in six sites in northern Michigan along a physiochemical and ecological gradient that characterizes northern peatlands. We found that the rates of these two pathways displayed markedly different dynamics in space and time and that the hydrogenotrophic pathway, previously presumed to be less significant in these systems, can increase substantially and become dominant across the landscape when water tables are high. Quantifying these two pathways provides critical insight into understanding dynamics of CH4 production in northern peatlands.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/20419
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectAnaerobicen_US
dc.subjectCarbonen_US
dc.subjectMethaneen_US
dc.subjectPathwaysen_US
dc.subjectPeatlandsen_US
dc.titleSeasonal Dynamics of Methane Pathways Along a Hydrogeomorphic Peatland Gradient
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Biology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.levelmasters
thesis.degree.nameM.S.

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