Methane source-sink behaviour in upland trees spanning a global climate gradient

<p>Forests play an important role in the exchange of radiatively important gases with the atmosphere. Previous studies have shown that in both temperate and tropical wetland forests tree stems are significant sources of methane, yet little is known about tree stem trace greenhouse gas dynamics in drier, free-draining soils that dominate global forested areas. Here, we examine methane fluxes on tree stems spanning a climate gradient of upland forests and floodplain forest across 4 locations in the Amazon, Brazil (Cunia, Rios Negro, Solimoes and Tapajos), lowland tropical forest on free-draining soils in Panama, Central America (Barro Colorado Nature Monument), deciduous woodland in the United Kingdom (Wytham, Oxfordshire) and boreal forest in Sweden. We found that trees behaved as both methane sources (near the tree base) and sinks (higher up the tree stem) across tropical, temperate and boreal sites and are highly variable, yet we were able to identify a broad correlation between the size of tree stem methane uptake fluxes and mean annual temperature across the climate gradient. The vertical spatial patterns of flux up the individual measured trees and climate gradient temperature-methane flux relationship together with revised LiDAR derived tree surface allometry permitted global scaling of fluxes in upland forest. Results of this scaling together with the implications of this refined understanding of the global methane cycle under various scenarios are discussed.</p>