Abstract
The natural wetlands of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are considered to be an important natural source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. The long-term variation in CH4 associated with climate change and wetland loss is still largely unknown. From 1950 to 2010, CH4 emissions over the TP were analyzed using a model framework that integrates CH4MODwetland, TOPMODEL, and TEM models. Our simulation revealed a total increase of 15% in CH4 fluxes, from 6.1 g m−2 year−1 to 7.0 g m−2 year−1. This change was primarily induced by increases in temperature and precipitation. Although climate change has accelerated CH4 fluxes, the total amount of regional CH4 emissions decreased by approximately 20% (0.06 Tg—i.e., from 0.28 Tg in the 1950s to 0.22 Tg in the 2000s), due to the loss of 1.41 million ha of wetland. Spatially, both CH4 fluxes and regional CH4 emissions showed a decreasing trend from the southeast to the northwest of the study area. Lower CH4 emissions occurred in the northwestern Plateau, while the highest emissions occurred in the eastern edge. Overall, our results highlighted the fact that wetland loss decreased the CH4 emissions by approximately 20%, even though climate change has accelerated the overall CH4 emission rates over the last six decades.
Highlights
Wetlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and global climate change
Recognizing the significance of climate change impacts on regional CH4 budgets, this study focuses on quantifying the variation in CH4 emissions from the Tibetan Plateau (TP) via a process-based model
Model validation at the site level indicated that the model provided a reasonable description of the observed CH4 emissions from the TP
Summary
Wetlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and global climate change. Wetlands cover only 5%–8% of the land surface [1,2,3], they comprise a carbon pool of 202–535 Pg [4,5,6] and account for 20%–25% of the global soil carbon storage [6]. Wetlands are the largest natural source of atmospheric CH4 —they contribute 20%–25% of the total global CH4 emissions [7,8]. Evidence suggests that the renewed increases in atmospheric CH4 observed during 2007 and 2008 arose primarily from increased natural wetland emissions as a result of anomalously high temperatures in the Arctic and greater than average precipitation in the tropics [11,12].
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