Articles | Volume 22, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-305-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-305-2025
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
15 Jan 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 15 Jan 2025

Ensemble estimates of global wetland methane emissions over 2000–2020

Zhen Zhang, Benjamin Poulter, Joe R. Melton, William J. Riley, George H. Allen, David J. Beerling, Philippe Bousquet, Josep G. Canadell, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Philippe Ciais, Nicola Gedney, Peter O. Hopcroft, Akihiko Ito, Robert B. Jackson, Atul K. Jain, Katherine Jensen, Fortunat Joos, Thomas Kleinen, Sara H. Knox, Tingting Li, Xin Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle McDonald, Gavin McNicol, Paul A. Miller, Jurek Müller, Prabir K. Patra, Changhui Peng, Shushi Peng, Zhangcai Qin, Ryan M. Riggs, Marielle Saunois, Qing Sun, Hanqin Tian, Xiaoming Xu, Yuanzhi Yao, Yi Xi, Wenxin Zhang, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, and Qianlai Zhuang

Related authors

The GIEMS-MethaneCentric database: a dynamic and comprehensive global product of methane-emitting aquatic areas
Juliette Bernard, Catherine Prigent, Carlos Jimenez, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Bernhard Lehner, Elodie Salmon, Philippe Ciais, Zhen Zhang, Shushi Peng, and Marielle Saunois
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-466,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-466, 2024
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Enhancing long-term trend simulation of the global tropospheric hydroxyl (TOH) and its drivers from 2005 to 2019: a synergistic integration of model simulations and satellite observations
Amir H. Souri, Bryan N. Duncan, Sarah A. Strode, Daniel C. Anderson, Michael E. Manyin, Junhua Liu, Luke D. Oman, Zhen Zhang, and Brad Weir
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8677–8701, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8677-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8677-2024, 2024
Short summary
Global Methane Budget 2000–2020
Marielle Saunois, Adrien Martinez, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Peter Raymond, Pierre Regnier, Joseph G. Canadell, Robert B. Jackson, Prabir K. Patra, Philippe Bousquet, Philippe Ciais, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Xin Lan, George H. Allen, David Bastviken, David J. Beerling, Dmitry A. Belikov, Donald R. Blake, Simona Castaldi, Monica Crippa, Bridget R. Deemer, Fraser Dennison, Giuseppe Etiope, Nicola Gedney, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Meredith A. Holgerson, Peter O. Hopcroft, Gustaf Hugelius, Akihito Ito, Atul K. Jain, Rajesh Janardanan, Matthew S. Johnson, Thomas Kleinen, Paul Krummel, Ronny Lauerwald, Tingting Li, Xiangyu Liu, Kyle C. McDonald, Joe R. Melton, Jens Mühle, Jurek Müller, Fabiola Murguia-Flores, Yosuke Niwa, Sergio Noce, Shufen Pan, Robert J. Parker, Changhui Peng, Michel Ramonet, William J. Riley, Gerard Rocher-Ros, Judith A. Rosentreter, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Steven J. Smith, Emily H. Stanley, Joel Thanwerdas, Hanquin Tian, Aki Tsuruta, Francesco N. Tubiello, Thomas S. Weber, Guido van der Werf, Doug E. Worthy, Yi Xi, Yukio Yoshida, Wenxin Zhang, Bo Zheng, Qing Zhu, Qiuan Zhu, and Qianlai Zhuang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-115,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-115, 2024
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
WetCH4: A Machine Learning-based Upscaling of Methane Fluxes of Northern Wetlands during 2016–2022
Qing Ying, Benjamin Poulter, Jennifer D. Watts, Kyle A. Arndt, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Lori Bruhwiler, Youmi Oh, Brendan M. Rogers, Susan M. Natali, Hilary Sullivan, Luke D. Schiferl, Clayton Elder, Olli Peltola, Annett Bartsch, Amanda Armstrong, Ankur R. Desai, Eugénie Euskirchen, Mathias Göckede, Bernhard Lehner, Mats B. Nilsson, Matthias Peichl, Oliver Sonnentag, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Torsten Sachs, Aram Kalhori, Masahito Ueyama, and Zhen Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-84,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-84, 2024
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Using Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) column CO2 retrievals to rapidly detect and estimate biospheric surface carbon flux anomalies
Andrew F. Feldman, Zhen Zhang, Yasuko Yoshida, Abhishek Chatterjee, and Benjamin Poulter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1545–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1545-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1545-2023, 2023
Short summary

Related subject area

Biogeochemistry: Greenhouse Gases
Seasonal carbon fluxes from vegetation and soil in a Mediterranean non-tidal salt marsh
Lorena Carrasco-Barea, Dolors Verdaguer, Maria Gispert, Xavier D. Quintana, Hélène Bourhis, and Laura Llorens
Biogeosciences, 22, 289–304, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-289-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-289-2025, 2025
Short summary
Explainable machine learning for modeling of net ecosystem exchange in boreal forests
Ekaterina Ezhova, Topi Laanti, Anna Lintunen, Pasi Kolari, Tuomo Nieminen, Ivan Mammarella, Keijo Heljanko, and Markku Kulmala
Biogeosciences, 22, 257–288, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-257-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-257-2025, 2025
Short summary
Dynamics of CO2 and CH4 fluxes in Red Sea mangrove soils
Jessica Breavington, Alexandra Steckbauer, Chuancheng Fu, Mongi Ennasri, and Carlos M. Duarte
Biogeosciences, 22, 117–134, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-117-2025, 2025
Short summary
Nitrous oxide (N2O) in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania
Johnathan Daniel Maxey, Neil D. Hartstein, Hermann W. Bange, and Moritz Müller
Biogeosciences, 21, 5613–5637, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5613-2024, 2024
Short summary
Technical note: A low-cost, automatic soil–plant–atmosphere enclosure system to investigate CO2 and evapotranspiration flux dynamics
Wael Al Hamwi, Maren Dubbert, Jörg Schaller, Matthias Lück, Marten Schmidt, and Mathias Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 21, 5639–5651, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5639-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Arndt, K. A., Oechel, W. C., Goodrich, J. P., Bailey, B. A., Kalhori, A., Hashemi, J., Sweeney, C., and Zona, D.: Sensitivity of Methane Emissions to Later Soil Freezing in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 124, 2595–2609, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005242, 2019. 
Arora, V. K., Melton, J. R., and Plummer, D.: An assessment of natural methane fluxes simulated by the CLASS-CTEM model, Biogeosciences, 15, 4683–4709, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4683-2018, 2018. 
Bansal, S., Post van der Burg, M., Fern, R. R., Jones, J. W., Lo, R., McKenna, O. P., Tangen, B. A., Zhang, Z., and Gleason, R. A.: Large increases in methane emissions expected from North America's largest wetland complex, Sci. Adv., 9, eade1112, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade1112, 2023. 
Basso, L. S., Marani, L., Gatti, L. V., Miller, J. B., Gloor, M., Melack, J., Cassol, H. L. G., Tejada, G., Domingues, L. G., Arai, E., Sanchez, A. H., Corrêa, S. M., Anderson, L., Aragão, L. E. O. C., Correia, C. S. C., Crispim, S. P., and Neves, R. A. L.: Amazon methane budget derived from multi-year airborne observations highlights regional variations in emissions, Commun. Earth Environ., 2, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00314-4, 2021. 
Bastviken, D., Treat, C. C., Pangala, S. R., Gauci, V., Enrich-Prast, A., Karlson, M., Gålfalk, M., Romano, M. B., and Sawakuchi, H. O.: The importance of plants for methane emission at the ecosystem scale, Aquat. Bot., 184, 103596, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2022.103596, 2023. 
Download
Co-editor-in-chief
This paper provides a critical evaluation of decadal trends in wetland methane emissions, offering robust insights into how climate change is driving increases in this potent greenhouse gas. By utilizing an ensemble of sixteen models alongside ground-based measurements, the paper provides a robust quantification of emission trends and associated uncertainties. As an international collaboration, this work contributes a comprehensive analysis that not only quantifies recent trends but also identifies temperature as the primary driver, offering essential information for predicting and managing future methane feedbacks.
Short summary
This study assesses global methane emissions from wetlands between 2000 and 2020 using multiple models. We found that wetland emissions increased by 6–7 Tg CH4 yr-1 in the 2010s compared to the 2000s. Rising temperatures primarily drove this increase, while changes in precipitation and CO2 levels also played roles. Our findings highlight the importance of wetlands in the global methane budget and the need for continuous monitoring to understand their impact on climate change.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint