Articles | Volume 17, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5209-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5209-2020
Research article
 | 
29 Oct 2020
Research article |  | 29 Oct 2020

Methane paradox in tropical lakes? Sedimentary fluxes rather than pelagic production in oxic conditions sustain methanotrophy and emissions to the atmosphere

Cédric Morana, Steven Bouillon, Vimac Nolla-Ardèvol, Fleur A. E. Roland, William Okello, Jean-Pierre Descy, Angela Nankabirwa, Erina Nabafu, Dirk Springael, and Alberto V. Borges

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Cited articles

Bastviken, D., Ejlertsson, J., Sundh, I., and Tranvik, L.: Methane as a source of carbon and energy for lake pelagic food webs, Ecology, 84, 969–981, 2003. 
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Bižić, M., Ionescu, D., Günthel, M., Tang, K. W., and Grossart, H. P.: Oxic Methane Cycling: New Evidence for Methane Formation in Oxic Lake Water, Biogenesis of Hydrocarbons, 1, 1–22, 2018. 
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A growing body of studies challenges the paradigm that methane (CH4) production occurs only under anaerobic conditions. Our field experiments revealed that oxic CH4 production is closely related to phytoplankton metabolism and is indeed a common feature in five contrasting African lakes. Nevertheless, we found that methanotrophic activity in surface waters and CH4 emissions to the atmosphere were predominantly fuelled by CH4 generated in sediments and physically transported to the surface.
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