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A heat map of the planet showing methane emissions from wetlands from 1980 to 2021. Greenhouse gas emissions from wetlands of concern consist primarily of methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Wetlands are the largest natural source of atmospheric methane in the world, and are therefore a major area of concern with respect to climate change.
If wetland methane emissions continue to rise, scientists say governments will need to take stronger action to hold warming at 1.5 C (2.7 F), as agreed in the United Nations Paris climate accord.
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of ... A 1994 article on methane emissions from northern wetlands said that since the ...
The concentration of atmospheric methane is increasing due to methane emissions, and is causing climate change. [3] [4] Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. [5]: 82 Methane's radiative forcing (RF) of climate is direct, [6]: 2 and it is the second largest contributor to human-caused climate forcing in the historical period.
Climate change is increasing the amount of methane released from wetlands due to increased temperatures and altered rainfall patterns. This phenomenon is called wetland methane feedback. [49] Rice cultivation generates as much as 12% of total global methane emissions due to the long-term flooding of rice fields. [50]
Fully water-saturated wetland soils allow anaerobic conditions to manifest, storing carbon but releasing methane. [48] Wetlands make up about 5-8% of Earth's terrestrial land surface but contain about 20-30% of the planet's 2500 Gt soil carbon stores. [49] Peatlands contain the highest amounts of soil organic carbon of all wetland types. [50]
Emissions of methane from land (particularly from wetlands) and of nitrous oxide from land and oceans are a known positive feedback. [69] I.e. long-term warming changes the balance in the methane-related microbial community within freshwater ecosystems so they produce more methane while proportionately less is oxidised to carbon dioxide. [70]
Some wetlands are a significant source of methane emissions [107] [108] and some are also emitters of nitrous oxide. [109] [110] Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 300 times that of carbon dioxide and is the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. [111]