Horizontal and vertical emissions of methane from peat soils

Methane emission from peat soils

Abstract

Methane emission depends on the rates of methane production, consumption and ability of soil and plants to transport the gas to the soil surface and also within soil particles. The objective of this study was to determine CH₄ fluxes horizontally and vertically from the floor and wall of the pit of a tropical peat soil. The horizontal emissions in the dry and wet seasons were 2.96 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1 and 4.27 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1, respectively and the vertical emissions were 0.36 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1 and 0.51 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1, respectively. The total amount of the horizontal and vertical emissions in the dry and wet seasons were 3.32 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1 and 4.78 t CH₄ ha^-1yr^-1, respectively. Horizontal emission was higher in the wet season due to an increase in the water table which resulted in an increase of CH₄ emission. Thus, there is a need for direct CH₄ measurement from cultivated peat soils to ensure that CH₄ emission is neither underestimated nor overestimated.

J Bangladesh Agril Univ 17(3): 359–362, 2019