Controls on CH4 flux from an Alaskan boreal wetland

Factors controlling the flux of the radiatively important trace gas methane (CH4) from boreal wetlands were examined at three sites along a moisture gradient from a treed low-shrub bog to an open floating graminoid bog in Fairbanks, Alaska. In the summer of 1992 average static chamber flux measurements were -0.02, 71.5, and 289 mg CH4/m(2)/d in dry, wet, and floating mat communities, respectively. In contrast, the warmer, drier 1993 field season flux measurements were -0.02, 42.9 and 407 mg CH4/m(2)/d. The data indicate that despite net oxidation of CH4 in the dry regions of the bog, the wetland is a net source of CH4, with fluxes ranging across three orders of magnitude between different plant communities. Comparison with water levels suggests that CH4 flux is turned on and off by changes in site hydrology. In sites where sufficient moisture is present for methanogenesis to occur, CH4 flux appears to be temperature limited, responding exponentially to soil temperature changes. The combined effects of hydrology and temperature create hot spots of CH4 flux within boreal wetlands. The plant communities within Lemeta Bog respond differently to changes in temperature and moisture availability, creating both positive and negative feedbacks to potential global climate change.