In northern (>50°N) freshwater ecosystems, aquatic vegetation is expanding, potentially enhancing methane (CH4) emissions through plant-mediated transport. Despite this, most studies do not directly measure CH4 fluxes from shoreline emergent vegetation. To better understand the contribution of vegetation to overall CH4 flux, we measured diffusive, ebullitive, and plant-mediated CH4 fluxes in open (non-vegetated) and vegetated areas along the shoreline of a northern boreal glacial lake in Kaska ancestral territory (British Columbia). Floating chambers that captured diffusive CH4 fluxes revealed that vegetated zones (24.6 ± 6.1 mg C m-2 d-1; diffusion + plant mediated) were approximately two times greater than fluxes from open areas (14.3 ± 4.2 mg C m-2 d-1). Ebullitive flux, captured using bubble traps, was a small contributor to overall flux, representing 0.96 ± 1.24 mg C m-2 d-1 and 0.93 ± 1.31 mg C m-2 d-1 from vegetated and open zones, respectively. Linear regressions showed that the combined diffusive and plant-mediated flux decreased with water depth (R2 = 0.23; p-value < 0.001). There were no significant predictors for when diffusive and plant-mediated flux were split. Pending stable carbon isotope data and benthic vegetation CH4 production incubations will provide more insights into CH4 production pathways. Our preliminary results suggest that CH4 emissions from large glacial lakes are likely to increase and play a more important role in the northern CH4 budget with the expansion of emergent vegetation.
Halifax NS
Canada