Methanogenesis and methane oxidation in wetlands. Implications in the global carbon cycle
Wetlands are important ecosystems on the Earth. They are distinguished by the presence of water, saturated anoxicsoils, and different kinds of vegetation adapted to this conditions. Organic matter in these environments ismineralized mainly in the sediments throughout anaerobic processes where sulfat...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2005 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana |
| Repositorio: | Redalyc-UAM |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:57815310 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57815310 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Biología Wetlands methanogenesis methane fluxes methane oxidation |
| Sumario: | Wetlands are important ecosystems on the Earth. They are distinguished by the presence of water, saturated anoxicsoils, and different kinds of vegetation adapted to this conditions. Organic matter in these environments ismineralized mainly in the sediments throughout anaerobic processes where sulfate reduction is one of the mostimportant terminal stages of anaerobic decomposition in coastal wetlands, whereas methanogenesis is importantin freshwater wetlands.In this environments, methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced as a result of the activity of a large and diverse groupof methanogenic bacteria (Domain Archaea). The generated methane can be diffused to the atmosphere or can beoxidized by several microorganisms under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, such microorganisms intercept andconsume this gas diminishing its emission to the atmosphere.The production and consumption of methane in wetlands involve complex physiological processes of plants andmicroorganisms, which are regulated by climatic and edaphic factors, mainly soil temperature and water table level.The interaction of these processes with heterogeneous environments results in large variations in the methanefluxes.Because methane is an important gas that contribute with as much as 15% to the greenhouse effect, several studieshad analyzed methane production and its emission from wetlands. These studies established that natural andagricultural freshwater wetlands represent approximately 40% of the sources of atmospheric methane. However,most of the ecological studies assessing the production, consumption, and emission of methane have beenperformed in boreal and temperate wetlands, yet there are few studies evaluating these activities in tropicalwetlands, particularly in Brazil and Panama. In Mexico there are not studies contributing to this respect. |
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