Canadian Forest Service Publications
Lake characteristics influence how methanogens in littoral sediments respond to terrestrial litter input. Yakimovich, K.M., Orland, C., Emilson, E.J.S., Tanentzap, A.J., Basiliko, N., Mykytczuk, N.C.S., The ISME Journal 2020
Year: 2020
Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 40216
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Plain Language Summary
When forest leaf fall decompose in freshwater ecosystems, methane - an extremely potent greenhouse gas - is released to the atmosphere. Forest management practices (insect control, harvest practices, etc.) can affect how much and what type of leaf fall ends up in water (e.g.: artificially increasing or decreasing inputs) - and thus affect methane release. The purpose of this study was to understand if there is a type of leaf litter or an amount of leaf litter that is a 'threshold' of methane production. The second purpose was to determine how features of the lake or pond that the leaf fall is entering influences whether methane will be produced or not. We investigated this methane response bby looking directly at changes in methanogen communities. We found that the features of the lake itself are more important than the type or amount of leaf fall. The study is important for informing future decisions aroun management and land use change around some lakes versus others, and how greenhouse gas responses could differ depending on the receiving lake. This has the potential to affect land use decisions by taking into account lake landscape type and position.
