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Shallow thermokarst lakes are important sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) resulting from continuous permafrost thawing due to global warming. Concentrations of GHGs dissolved in water typically increase with decreasing lake size due to coastal abrasion and organic matter delivery. We hypothesized that (i) CH4 oxidation depends on the natural oxygenation gradient in the lake water and sediments and increases with lake size because of stronger wind‐induced water mixing; (ii) CO2 production increases with decreasing lake size, following the dissolved organic matter gradient; and (iii) both processes are more intensive in the upper than deeper sediments due to the in situ gradients of oxygen (O2) and bioavailable carbon. We estimated aerobic CH4 oxidation potentials and CO2 production based on the injection of 13C‐labeled CH4 in the 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm sediment depths of small (~300 m2), medium (~3000 m2), and large (~106 m2) shallow thermokarst lakes in the West Siberian Lowland. The CO2 production was 1.4–3.5 times stronger in the upper sediments than in the 10–20 cm depth and increased from large (158 ± 18 nmol CO2 g−1 sediment d.w. h−1) to medium and small (192 ± 17 nmol CO2 g−1 h−1) lakes. Methane oxidation in the upper sediments was similar in all lakes, while at depth, large lakes had 14‐ and 74‐fold faster oxidation rates (5.1 ± 0.5 nmol CH4‐derived CO2 g−1 h−1) than small and medium lakes, respectively. This was attributed to the higher O2 concentration in large lakes due to the more intense wind‐induced water turbulence and mixing than in smaller lakes. From a global perspective, the CH4 oxidation potential confirms the key role of thermokarst lakes as an important hotspot for GHG emissions, which increase with the decreasing lake size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An assessment of C and N balance in urban soil compared to the natural environment was carried out to evaluate the influence of biological processes along with human-induced forcing. Soil C and N stocks were quantified on the samples (n=18) collected at 5 - 10 cm depth from dominated green areas and arable lands in the city of Wroclaw (Poland) and the relatively natural grassland located ca. 36 km south-west. Higher soil carbon and nitrogen levels (C/N ratio = 11.8) and greater microbial biomass C and N values (MBC = 95.3, MBN = 14.4 mg N kg-1) were measured in natural grassland compared with the citywide lawn sites (C/N ratio = 15.17, MBC = 84.3 mg C kg-1, MBN = 11.9 mg N kg-1), respectively. In contrast to the natural areas, the higher C and N concentration was measured in urban grass dominated soils (C = 2.7 % and N = 0.18 % of dry mass), which can be explained mainly due to the high soil bulk density and water holding capacity (13.8 % clay content). The limited availability of soil C and N content was seen under the arable soil (C = 1.23 %, N = 0.13 %) than in the studied grasslands. In fact, the significantly increased C/N ratios in urban grasslands are largely associated with land conversion and demonstrate that urban soils have the potential to be an important reservoir of C.

Understanding the origin and mechanisms controlling GHGs (CO2, CH4 and N2O) emission spatially and temporally is critical for evaluating future climate changes. Whether the controls on GHG dynamics in urban ecosystem are similar to those in natural ecosystems are not fully understood. In the current study, the aboveground (cover vegetation + soil) and soil (including autotrophic and heterotrophic) CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes and respective carbon stable isotopic composition (δ13C) of respired CO2 at natural abundance level were simultaneously measured from a re-established grassland in the urban area of central Germany. The static chamber system (combination of transparent and opaque modes) was applied to assess the effects of intensive vegetation growth during two weeks of April 2017. The values of CO2 fluxes obtained with both transparent and opaque chambers differed significantly due to the combined effects of the incoming photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and temperature on vegetation and belowground processes. The average value of measured CO2 flux with opaque chambers was 9.14 ± 1.9 (mg m-2 min-1) vs. 2.37 ± 0.9 (mg m-2 min-1) with transparent chambers for the re-established grassland. In contrast, soil CH4, as well as N2O fluxes were not different significantly for both opaque-transparent chamber measurements. Current magnitude provides the pattern of the urban ecosystem source/ sinks potential during ambient light conditions.

The relationship between stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C -CO2) of soil CO2 flux, vegetation cover and weather conditions was investigated in a short-term campaign at a temperate re-established grassland in Germany. During August-September 2016, we measured surface CO2 flux with a closed-chamber method at high and low soil moisture content (‘wet’, ‘dry’), with and without above ground vegetation (‘planted’, ‘clear-cut’) and estimated the effects of treatments on respective δ13C -CO2 values. The concentration and stable carbon isotope composition of CO2 were determined using the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses. The δ13C -CO2 of the soil fluxes decreased over sampling time for the ‘dry-warm’ conditions and canopy manipulation. The ecosystem-derived δ13C -CO2 values (corrected for the atmospheric δ13C -CO2) which included predominately soil-and rhizosphere respiration were –26.2 ± 0.8‰ for the ‘dry-warm’ conditions and decreased down to –28.1 ± 1.4‰ over a period of 28 days from late August to the end of September. The decrease coincided with the lowering of CO2 flux and could be attributed to changes in plant physiological processes at the end of the vegetation season. Though the removal of shoots did not significantly affect the δ13C -CO2 values as compared with the control, the pattern of further δ13C -CO2 decrease (down to –28.8 ± 0.8‰) supported the role of living vegetation in a contribution of 13C-enriched CO2 to the ecosystem respiration.

The global methane (CH4) budget is based on a sensitive balance between methanogenesis and CH4 oxidation (aerobic and anaerobic). The response of these processes to climate warming, however, is not quantified. This largely reflects our lack of knowledge about the temperature sensitivity (Q10) of the anaerobic oxidation of CH4 (AOM)—a ubiquitous process in soils. Based on a 13CH4 labeling experiment, we determined the rate, Q10 and activation energy of AOM and of methanogenesis in a paddy soil at three temperatures (5, 20, 35°C). The rates of AOM and of methanogenesis increased exponentially with temperature, whereby the AOM rate was significantly lower than methanogenesis. Both the activation energy and Q10 of AOM dropped significantly from 5–20 to 20–35°C, indicating that AOM is a highly temperature‐dependent microbial process. Nonetheless, the Q10 of AOM and of methanogenesis were similar at 5–35°C, implying a comparable temperature dependence of AOM and methanogenesis in paddy soil. The continuous increase of AOM Q10 over the 28‐day experiment reflects the successive utilization of electron acceptors according to their thermodynamic efficiency. The basic constant for Q10 of AOM was calculated to be 0.1 units for each 3.2 kJ mol−1 increase of activation energy. We estimate the AOM in paddy soils to consume 2.2~5.5 Tg CH4 per year on a global scale. Considering these results in conjunction with literature data, the terrestrial AOM in total consumes ~30% of overall CH4 production. Our data corroborate a similar Q10 of AOM and methanogenesis. As the rate of AOM in paddy soils is lower than methanogenesis, however, it will not fully compensate for an increased methane production under climate warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]