Methane emission from savanna grasses

Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Abstract Introduction Conclusions References Tables Figures Back Close Full Screen / Esc Printer-friendly Version Interactive Discussion EGU Abstract Methane flux measurements from the soil-grass system were made during the wet season in unperturbed plots and plots where standing dry and green Trachypogon sp. grasses were clipped to just above the soil surface. Results support the surprising discovery that vegetation emits methane. The dry/green mixture of grasses produce 5 methane at a rate of ∼10 ng m −2 s −1 , which extrapolated to the global savanna would produce an annual emission of ∼5 Tg, much lower than the production recently suggested in the literature. On the other hand, during the wet season savanna soil consume CH 4 at a rate of ∼4.7 ng m −2 s −1 , producing a global sink of ∼1.3 Tg yr −1. Therefore, the tropical savanna soil-grass system would make a modest contribution to 10 the global budget of methane.