Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from agricultural drainage canals at the Timberlake Observatory for Wetland Restoration in North Carolina’s coastal plain

Authors

Hannah V. Schleupner, Hollins UniversityFollow
Katherine L. Juarez, Wake Forest UniversityFollow
Mary J. Carmichael, Hollins UniversityFollow

Abstract

Wetlands play an integral role in the global biogeochemical cycling of carbon (C). Historically, research on carbon dynamics in wetlands has focused on large-scale wetlands that are easily recognized on the landscape. However, cryptic wetlands- wetlands that may be small-scale, seasonally inundated, and/or otherwise difficult to identify or characterize on a landscape- occur throughout the Earth’s surface. Agricultural drainage canals represent one type of cryptic wetland environment. Even though they are individually small, the collective imprint of drainage canals across a landscape, especially in low-lying regions where land use is dominated by agriculture, may be large. Herein, we measure CO₂ and CH₄ emissions from agricultural drainage canals at the Timberlake Observatory for Wetland Restoration in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. Our findings indicate that the inclusion of agricultural drainage canals in the measured GHG fluxes from Timberlake increases site CO₂ and CH₄ emissions by ca. 1% each. Therefore, agricultural drainage canals may be an unrecognized source of C-fluxes in low-lying regions of the Earth dominated by cropland.

Recommended Citation

Schleupner, Hannah V.; Juarez, Katherine L.; and Carmichael, Mary J. (2019) "Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from agricultural drainage canals at the Timberlake Observatory for Wetland Restoration in North Carolina’s coastal plain," RURALS: Review of Undergraduate Research in Agricultural and Life Sciences: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/rurals/vol12/iss1/1