Methane (CH4) fluxes at peatland plant surfaces are net results of transport of soil-produced CH4 and within-plant CH4 production and consumption, yet factors and processes controlling these fluxes remain unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of seasonality, environmental variables, and CH4 cycling microbes on CH4 fluxes from characteristic fen species.
MethodsFour species (Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula nana, Salix lapponum) were selected, and their CH4 fluxes determined in climate-controlled environments with three mesocosms per growing season per species. Microbial genes for CH4 cycling were analysed to check the potential for within-plant CH4 production and oxidation. Two extra experiments were conducted: removal of C. rostrata leaves to identify how leaves constrain CH4 transport, and a labelling experiment with S. lapponum to distinguish between plant-produced and soil-produced CH4 in the plant flux.
ResultsAll species showed seasonal variability in CH4 fluxes. Higher porewater CH4 concentration increased fluxes from C. rostrata and M. trifoliata, decreased fluxes from S. lapponum, and did not affect fluxes from B. nana. Air temperature only and negatively affected CH4 flux from C. rostrata. Light level did not impact CH4 fluxes. Both methanogens and methanotrophs were detected in shoots of S. lapponum and M. trifoliata, methanotrophs in B. nana, and neither in C. rostrata.
ConclusionOur study demonstrates that the seasonal phase of the plants regulates the CH4 fluxes they mediate across species. The detection of methanogens and methanotrophs in herbs and shrubs suggests that microbial processes may contribute to their CH4 fluxes.
", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "0303 health sciences", "metanotrofit", "varvut", "Herbs", "11831 Plant biology", "metaani", "Environmental sciences", "Controlled environments", "Microbes", "03 medical and health sciences", "Phenology", "suot", "Plant-mediated CH fluxes", "suokasvillisuus", "Shrubs", "metanogeenit", "sarat"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06756-x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s11104-024-06756-x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s11104-024-06756-x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s11104-024-06756-x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-06-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1038/s41586-023-05791-5", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-04T16:18:00Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-03-08", "title": "The giant diploid faba genome unlocks variation in a global protein crop", "description": "AbstractIncreasing the proportion of locally produced plant protein in currently meat-rich diets could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity1. However, plant protein production is hampered by the lack of a cool-season legume equivalent to soybean in agronomic value2. Faba bean (Vicia fabaL.) has a high yield potential and is well suited for cultivation in temperate regions, but genomic resources are scarce. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale assembly of the faba bean genome and show that it has expanded to a massive 13\uffe2\uff80\uff89Gb in size through an imbalance between the rates of amplification and elimination of retrotransposons and satellite repeats. Genes and recombination events are evenly dispersed across chromosomes and the gene space is remarkably compact considering the genome size, although with substantial copy number variation driven by tandem duplication. Demonstrating practical application of the genome sequence, we develop a targeted genotyping assay and use high-resolution genome-wide association analysis to dissect the genetic basis of seed size and hilum colour. The resources presented constitute a genomics-based breeding platform for faba bean, enabling breeders and geneticists to accelerate the\uffc2\uffa0improvement of sustainable protein production across the\uffc2\uffa0Mediterranean, subtropical and northern temperate agroecological zones. Methane emissions from plant foliage may play an important role in the global methane cycle, but their size and the underlying source processes remain poorly understood. Here, we quantify methane fluxes from the shoots of Scots pine trees, a dominant tree species in boreal forests, to identify source processes and environmental drivers, and we evaluate whether these fluxes can be constrained at the ecosystem-level by eddy covariance flux measurements. We show that shoot-level measurements conducted in forest, garden, or greenhouse settings; on mature trees and saplings; manually and with an automated CO 2 -, temperature-, and water-controlled chamber system; and with multiple methane analyzers all resulted in comparable daytime fluxes (0.144 \uffc2\uffb1 0.019 to 0.375 \uffc2\uffb1 0.074 nmol CH 4 g \uffe2\uff88\uff921 foliar d.w. h \uffe2\uff88\uff921 ). We further find that these emissions exhibit a pronounced diurnal cycle that closely follows photosynthetically active radiation and is further modulated by temperature. These diurnal patterns indicate that methane production is associated with diurnal cycle of sunlight, indicating that this production is either a byproduct of photosynthesis-associated biochemical reactions (e.g., the methionine cycle) or produced through nonenzymatic photochemical reactions in plant biomass. Moreover, we identified a light-dependent component in stand-level methane fluxes, which showed order-of-magnitude agreement with shoot-level measurements (0.968 \uffc2\uffb1 0.031 nmol CH 4 g \uffe2\uff88\uff921 h \uffe2\uff88\uff921 ) and which provides an upper limit for shoot methane emissions.
Aerenchymatic transport is an important mechanism through which plants affect methane (CH4) emissions from peatlands. Controlling environmental factors and the effects of plant phenology remain, however, uncertain.
We identified factors controlling seasonal CH4 flux rate and investigated transport efficiency (flux rate per unit of rhizospheric porewater CH4 concentration). We measured CH4 fluxes through individual shoots of Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula nana and Salix lapponum throughout growing seasons in 2020 and 2021 and Equisetum fluviatile and Comarum palustre in high summer 2021 along with water\uffe2\uff80\uff90table level, peat temperature and porewater CH4 concentration.
CH4 flux rate of C. rostrata was related to plant phenology and peat temperature. Flux rates of M. trifoliata and shrubs B. nana and S. lapponum were insensitive to the investigated environmental variables. In high summer, flux rate and efficiency were highest for C. rostrata (6.86\uffe2\uff80\uff89mg\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922\uffc2\uffa0h\uffe2\uff88\uff921 and 0.36\uffe2\uff80\uff89mg\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922\uffc2\uffa0h\uffe2\uff88\uff921 (\uffce\uffbcmol\uffe2\uff80\uff89l\uffe2\uff88\uff921)\uffe2\uff88\uff921, respectively). Menyanthes trifoliata showed a high flux rate, but limited efficiency. Low flux rates and efficiency were detected for the remaining species.
Knowledge of the species\uffe2\uff80\uff90specific CH4 flux rate and their different responses to plant phenology and environmental factors can significantly improve the estimation of ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale CH4 dynamics in boreal peatlands.
Plants are recognized as sources of aerobically produced methane (CH4), but the seasonality, environmental drivers and significance of CH4 emissions from the canopies of evergreen boreal trees remain poorly understood.
We measured the CH4 fluxes from the shoots of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) and Picea abies (Norway spruce) saplings in a static, non\uffe2\uff80\uff90steady\uffe2\uff80\uff90state chamber setup to investigate if the shoots of boreal conifers are a source of CH4 during spring.
We found that the shoots of Scots pine emitted CH4 and these emissions correlated with the photosynthetically active radiation. For Norway spruce, the evidence for CH4 emissions from the shoots was inconclusive.
Our study shows that the canopies of evergreen boreal trees are a potential source of CH4 in the spring and that these emissions are driven by a temperature\uffe2\uff80\uff90by\uffe2\uff80\uff90light interaction effect of solar radiation either directly or indirectly through its effects on tree physiological processes.
Increasing the proportion of locally produced plant protein in currently meat-rich diets could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity 1 . However, plant protein production is hampered by the lack of a cool-season legume equivalent to soybean in agronomic value 2 . Faba bean ( Vicia faba L.) has a high yield potential and is well suited for cultivation in temperate regions, but genomic resources are scarce. Here, we report a high-quality chromosome-scale assembly of the faba bean genome and show that it has expanded to a massive 13\uffe2\uff80\uff89Gb in size through an imbalance between the rates of amplification and elimination of retrotransposons and satellite repeats. Genes and recombination events are evenly dispersed across chromosomes and the gene space is remarkably compact considering the genome size, although with substantial copy number variation driven by tandem duplication. Demonstrating practical application of the genome sequence, we develop a targeted genotyping assay and use high-resolution genome-wide association analysis to dissect the genetic basis of seed size and hilum colour. The resources presented constitute a genomics-based breeding platform for faba bean, enabling breeders and geneticists to accelerate the\uffc2\uffa0improvement of sustainable protein production across the\uffc2\uffa0Mediterranean, subtropical and northern temperate agroecological zones. Methane emissions from plant foliage may play an important role in the global methane cycle, but their size and the underlying source processes remain poorly understood. Here, we quantify methane fluxes from the shoots of Scots pine trees, a dominant tree species in boreal forests, to identify source processes and environmental drivers, and we evaluate whether these fluxes can be constrained at the ecosystem-level by eddy covariance flux measurements. We show that shoot-level measurements conducted in forest, garden, or greenhouse settings; on mature trees and saplings; manually and with an automated CO 2 -, temperature-, and water-controlled chamber system; and with multiple methane analyzers all resulted in comparable daytime fluxes (0.144 \uffc2\uffb1 0.019 to 0.375 \uffc2\uffb1 0.074 nmol CH 4 g \uffe2\uff88\uff921 foliar d.w. h \uffe2\uff88\uff921 ). We further find that these emissions exhibit a pronounced diurnal cycle that closely follows photosynthetically active radiation and is further modulated by temperature. These diurnal patterns indicate that methane production is associated with diurnal cycle of sunlight, indicating that this production is either a byproduct of photosynthesis-associated biochemical reactions (e.g., the methionine cycle) or produced through nonenzymatic photochemical reactions in plant biomass. Moreover, we identified a light-dependent component in stand-level methane fluxes, which showed order-of-magnitude agreement with shoot-level measurements (0.968 \uffc2\uffb1 0.031 nmol CH 4 g \uffe2\uff88\uff921 h \uffe2\uff88\uff921 ) and which provides an upper limit for shoot methane emissions.Plants are recognized as sources of aerobically produced methane (CH4), but the seasonality, environmental drivers and significance of CH4 emissions from the canopies of evergreen boreal trees remain poorly understood.
We measured the CH4 fluxes from the shoots of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) and Picea abies (Norway spruce) saplings in a static, non\uffe2\uff80\uff90steady\uffe2\uff80\uff90state chamber setup to investigate if the shoots of boreal conifers are a source of CH4 during spring.
We found that the shoots of Scots pine emitted CH4 and these emissions correlated with the photosynthetically active radiation. For Norway spruce, the evidence for CH4 emissions from the shoots was inconclusive.
Our study shows that the canopies of evergreen boreal trees are a potential source of CH4 in the spring and that these emissions are driven by a temperature\uffe2\uff80\uff90by\uffe2\uff80\uff90light interaction effect of solar radiation either directly or indirectly through its effects on tree physiological processes.
Methane (CH4) fluxes at peatland plant surfaces are net results of transport of soil-produced CH4 and within-plant CH4 production and consumption, yet factors and processes controlling these fluxes remain unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of seasonality, environmental variables, and CH4 cycling microbes on CH4 fluxes from characteristic fen species. MethodsFour species (Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula nana, Salix lapponum) were selected, and their CH4 fluxes determined in climate-controlled environments with three mesocosms per growing season per species. Microbial genes for CH4 cycling were analysed to check the potential for within-plant CH4 production and oxidation. Two extra experiments were conducted: removal of C. rostrata leaves to identify how leaves constrain CH4 transport, and a labelling experiment with S. lapponum to distinguish between plant-produced and soil-produced CH4 in the plant flux.
ResultsAll species showed seasonal variability in CH4 fluxes. Higher porewater CH4 concentration increased fluxes from C. rostrata and M. trifoliata, decreased fluxes from S. lapponum, and did not affect fluxes from B. nana. Air temperature only and negatively affected CH4 flux from C. rostrata. Light level did not impact CH4 fluxes. Both methanogens and methanotrophs were detected in shoots of S. lapponum and M. trifoliata, methanotrophs in B. nana, and neither in C. rostrata.
ConclusionOur study demonstrates that the seasonal phase of the plants regulates the CH4 fluxes they mediate across species. The detection of methanogens and methanotrophs in herbs and shrubs suggests that microbial processes may contribute to their CH4 fluxes.
", "keywords": ["0301 basic medicine", "570", "0303 health sciences", "metanotrofit", "varvut", "Herbs", "11831 Plant biology", "metaani", "Environmental sciences", "Controlled environments", "Microbes", "03 medical and health sciences", "Phenology", "suot", "Plant-mediated CH fluxes", "suokasvillisuus", "Shrubs", "metanogeenit", "sarat"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10138/577327"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20and%20Soil", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10138/577327", "name": "item", "description": "10138/577327", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10138/577327"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-06-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10138/570237", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-04T16:25:03Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2023-02-08", "title": "Plant phenology and species\u2010specific traits control plant CH4 emissions in a northern boreal fen", "description": "Summary
Aerenchymatic transport is an important mechanism through which plants affect methane (CH4) emissions from peatlands. Controlling environmental factors and the effects of plant phenology remain, however, uncertain.
We identified factors controlling seasonal CH4 flux rate and investigated transport efficiency (flux rate per unit of rhizospheric porewater CH4 concentration). We measured CH4 fluxes through individual shoots of Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula nana and Salix lapponum throughout growing seasons in 2020 and 2021 and Equisetum fluviatile and Comarum palustre in high summer 2021 along with water\uffe2\uff80\uff90table level, peat temperature and porewater CH4 concentration.
CH4 flux rate of C. rostrata was related to plant phenology and peat temperature. Flux rates of M. trifoliata and shrubs B. nana and S. lapponum were insensitive to the investigated environmental variables. In high summer, flux rate and efficiency were highest for C. rostrata (6.86\uffe2\uff80\uff89mg\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922\uffc2\uffa0h\uffe2\uff88\uff921 and 0.36\uffe2\uff80\uff89mg\uffe2\uff80\uff89m\uffe2\uff88\uff922\uffc2\uffa0h\uffe2\uff88\uff921 (\uffce\uffbcmol\uffe2\uff80\uff89l\uffe2\uff88\uff921)\uffe2\uff88\uff921, respectively). Menyanthes trifoliata showed a high flux rate, but limited efficiency. Low flux rates and efficiency were detected for the remaining species.
Knowledge of the species\uffe2\uff80\uff90specific CH4 flux rate and their different responses to plant phenology and environmental factors can significantly improve the estimation of ecosystem\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale CH4 dynamics in boreal peatlands.