Inter-Annual Variability of Area-Scaled Gaseous Carbon Emissions from Wetland Soils in the Liaohe Delta, China

Global management of wetlands to suppress greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, facilitate carbon (C) sequestration, and reduce atmospheric CO(2) concentrations while simultaneously promoting agricultural gains is paramount. However, studies that relate variability in CO(2) and CH(4) emissions at large spatial scales are limited. We investigated three-year emissions of soil CO(2) and CH(4) from the primary wetland types of the Liaohe Delta, China, by focusing on a total wetland area of 3287 km(2). One percent is Suaeda salsa, 24% is Phragmites australis, and 75% is rice. While S. salsa wetlands are under somewhat natural tidal influence, P. australis and rice are managed hydrologically for paper and food, respectively. Total C emissions from CO(2) and CH(4) from these wetland soils were 2.9 Tg C/year, ranging from 2.5 to 3.3 Tg C/year depending on the year assessed. Primary emissions were from CO(2) (~98%). Photosynthetic uptake of CO(2) would mitigate most of the soil CO(2) emissions, but CH(4) emissions would persist. Overall, CH(4) fluxes were high when soil temperatures were >18°C and pore water salinity <18 PSU. CH(4) emissions from rice habitat alone in the Liaohe Delta represent 0.2% of CH(4) carbon emissions globally from rice. With such a large area and interannual sensitivity in soil GHG fluxes, management practices in the Delta and similar wetlands around the world have the potential not only to influence local C budgeting, but also to influence global biogeochemical cycling.