HR: 1340h
AN: B53A-0940    [Abstracts]
TI: Aerobic Emission of Methane by Terrestrial Plant Material in Response to UV- irradiance
AU: * Bruhn, D
EM: dan.bruhn@risoe.dk
AF: Biosystems Department Risø National Laboratory Technical University of Denmark – DTU, Building 330, P.O. Box 49 Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
AU: Mikkelsen, T N
EM: teis.mikkelsen@risoe.dk
AF: Biosystems Department Risø National Laboratory Technical University of Denmark – DTU, Building 330, P.O. Box 49 Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
AU: Ambus, P
EM: per.ambus@risoe.dk
AF: Biosystems Department Risø National Laboratory Technical University of Denmark – DTU, Building 330, P.O. Box 49 Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
AB: Recently, CH4 emission from living and dead plant tissues was demonstrated to occur under aerobic conditions. This work included some calculations to extrapolate the findings from the laboratory to the global scale and led various commentators to question the value of planting trees as a greenhouse mitigation option. These original findings have yet to be independently repeated and confirmed. Instead, the only other detailed study that has been published did not find any significant aerobic emissions of methane. We have set up experiments, in which we employ photo-acoustical and gas chromatographic methods to test the controversy regarding CH4 emission by plants. We will present data from very different types of plant material exposed to varying levels of UV-irradiance in order to test the hypothesis, that plant CH4 emission is a result of UV-mediated CH4 release. Further, we discuss the implications of our findings for an up scaling of CH4 production by terrestrial vegetation to a global level and thus potential reevaluation of the global CH budget.
DE: 0426 Biosphere/atmosphere interactions (0315)
DE: 0476 Plant ecology (1851)
DE: 0490 Trace gases
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting