Skip to main content
Log in

Methane flux and production from sediments of a mangrove wetland on Hainan Island, China

  • Published:
Mangroves and Salt Marshes

Abstract

Methane fluxes from sediments in different zones of a Bruguiera sexangula mangrove wetland were determined by closed static chamber techniques during one whole year period, at Changning River estuary, northeast of Hainan Island, China. Methane productions were also measured by anaerobically incubating sediment samples. Impacts of salinity, sulphate and temperature on methane production rates were studied in vitro. Great differences of annual methane fluxes were observed in three zones, with the values of 0.39, 0.20 and 0.12 g m−2 in the outer zone, middle zone and inner zone, respectively, in part due to the differences of sediment water contents and crab bioturbation. The highest fluxes in each zone occurred in autumn and the lowest in winter. Large diurnal fluctuations in fluxes were caused by the changes of tidal conditions rather than the changes of air or sediment temperatures. The temporal and spatial patterns of methane production differed somewhat from those of methane flux. There was great seasonality for methane production and the highest productions were found in autumn and the lowest in spring. Different horizontal and vertical patterns occurred in different seasons and different zones, suggesting the complexity of factors controlling methane production. The in vitro control experiments indicated that salinity and sulphate had negative effects whereas temperature (20–50°C) had positive effects on methane production rates. However, there were different sensitivities for the different levels of the three factors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aselmann, I. and Cruten, P.I. 1989. Global distribution of natural freshwater wetlands and rice paddies, their net primary productivity, seasonality and possible methane emissions. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 8: 307–358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber, T.R., Burke, R.A. and Sackett, W.M. 1988. Diffusive flux of methane from warm wetlands. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2: 411–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, K.B., Bartlett, D.S., Harriss, R.C. and Sebacher, D.I. 1987. Methane emissions along a salt marsh salinity gradient. Biogeochemistry 4: 183–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartlett, K.B., Harriss, R.C. and Sebacher, D.I. 1985. Methane flux from coastal salt marshes. Journal of Geophysical Research 90: 5710–5720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bubier, J.L. and Moore, T.R. 1993. Methane emissions from wetlands in the midboreal region of northern Ontario, Canada. Ecology 74: 2240–2254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, S.J., Kanda, K., Tsuruta, H. and Minami, K. 1996. Influence of temperature and oxygen availability on the flux of methane and carbon dioxide from wetlands: a comparison of peat and paddy soils. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 42: 267–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicerone, R.J. and Oremland, R.S. 1988. Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2: 299–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, R. 1989. Control of methane production in terrestrial ecosystems. pp. 39–58. In: Andreae, M.O. and Schimel, D.S. (eds), Exchange of Trace Gases Between Terrestrial Ecosystems and Atmosphere. JohnWiley and Sons, NewYork.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, R., Schütz, H. and Babbel, M. 1987. Temperature limitation of hydrogen turnover and methanogenesis in anoxic paddy soil. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 45: 281–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Angelis, M.A. and Scranton, M.I. 1993. Fate of methane in the Hudson River and estuary. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 7: 509–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune, R.D., Smith, C.J. and Patrick, W.H. 1983. Methane release from Gulf Coast wetland. Tellus 35B: 8–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denier, H.A.C. and Neue, H.U. 1996. Oxidation of methane in the rhizosphere of rice plants. Biology and Fertilizer of Soils 22: 359–366.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harriss, R.C., Sebacher, D.I., Bartlett, K.B., Bartlett, D.S. and Crill, P.M. 1988. Sources of atmospheric methane in the south Florida environment. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 2: 231–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jakobsen, P., Patrick,W.H. and Williams, B.G. 1981. Sulfide and methane formation in soils and sediments. Soil Science 132: 279–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, C.A., Martens, C.S. and Ussler, W.I. 1995. Methane dynamics across a tidally flooded riverbank margin. Limnology and Oceanography 40: 1112–1129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khalil, M.A.K. and Rasmussen, R.A. 1989. Climate-induced feedbacks for the global cycles of methane and nitrous oxide. Tellus 41B: 544–559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khalil, M.A.K. and Rasmussen, R.A. 1990. Constraints on the global sources of methane and an analysis of recent budgets. Tellus 42B: 229–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, G.M. and Wiebe, W.J. 1978. Methane release from soils of a Georgia salt marsh. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42: 343–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, P. 1997. Mangrove Ecosystem in China. Science Press, Beijing, China, pp. 34–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martens, C.S. and Berner, R.A. 1974. Methane production in the interstitial waters of sulphate-depleted marine sediments. Science 185: 1167–1169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, E. and Fung, I. 1987. Methane emission from natural wetlands: global distribution, area, environmental characteristics of sources. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 1: 61–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oremland, R.S. and Polcin, S. 1982. Methanogenesis and sulphate reduction: competitive and noncompetitive substrates in estuarine sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 44: 1270–1276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saarnio, S., Alm, J., Silvola, J., Lohila, A., Nykanen, H. and Martikanen, P.J. 1997. Seasonal variation in CH4 emissions and production and oxidation potentials at microsites on an oligotrophic pine fen. Oecologia 110: 414–422.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schütz, H., Schroder, P. and Rennenberg, H. 1991. Role of plants in regulating the methane flux to the atmosphere. pp. 29–63. In: Sharkey, T. D., Holland, E. A. and Mooney, H. A. (eds), Trace Gas Emissions by Plants, Academic Press.

  • Schütz, H., Holzapfel-Pschorn, A., Rennenberg, H., Seiler, W. and Conrad, R. 1989. A 3-year continuous record on the influence of daytime, season, fertilizer treatment on methane emission rates from an Italian rice paddy. Journal of Geophysical Research 94: 405–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shangguan, X.J., Wang, M.X., Chen, D.Z. and Shen, R.X. 1993a. Methane production in rice paddy fields (in Chinese). Advance in Earth Science 8(5): 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shangguan, X.J., Wang, M.X. and Shen, R.X. 1993b. Patterns of methane emission from rice paddies (in Chinese). Advance in Earth Science 8(5): 23–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shannon, J.D. and White, J.R. 1996. The effects of spatial and temporal variations in acetate and sulphate on methane cycling in twoMichigan peatlands. Limnology and Oceanography 41: 435–443.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sotomayor, D., Corredor, J.E. and Morell, J.M. 1994. Methane flux from mangrove sediments along the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. Estuary 17: 140–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, L.P., Dlugokencky, E.J., Lang, P.M., Tans, P.P., Martin, R.C. and Masarie, K.A. 1992. Slowing down of the global accumulation of atmospheric methane during the 1980's. Nature 358: 313–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M.X. 1993. Sources of methane in China. Journal of Environmental Sciences 4: 389–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiting, G.T. and Chanton, J.P. 1993. Primary production control of methane emission from wetlands. Nature 364: 794–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R.T. and Crawford, R.L. 1984. Methane production in Minnesota peatlands. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 47: 1266–1271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winfrey, M.R. and Zeikus, J.G. 1977. Effect of sulphate on carbon and electron flow during microbial methanogenesis in freshwater sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 33: 275–281.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yagi, K. and Minami, K. 1990. Effect of organic matter application on methane emission from some Japanese paddy fields. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 36: 599–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yavitt, J.B., Wieder, R.K. and Lang, G.E. 1993.CO2 andCH4 dynamics of a Sphagnum-dominated peatland in West Virginia. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 7: 259–274.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yi Lu, C., Wong, Y.S., Tam, N.F.Y. et al. Methane flux and production from sediments of a mangrove wetland on Hainan Island, China. Mangroves and Salt Marshes 3, 41–49 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009989026801

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009989026801

Navigation