Work

Climate-induced shifts in sulfate dynamics regulate anaerobic methane oxidation in a coastal wetland

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO) is a key microbial pathway that mitigates methane emissions in coastal wetlands, but the response of AMO to changing global climate remains poorly understood. Here, we assessed the response of AMO to climate change in a brackish coastal wetland using a 5-year field manipulation of warming and elevated carbon dioxide ( e CO 2 ). Sulfate (SO 4 2− )–dependent AMO (S-DAMO) was the predominant AMO process at our study site due to tidal inputs of SO 4 2− . However, SO 4 2− dynamics responded differently to the treatments; warming reduced SO 4 2− concentration by enhancing SO 4 2− reduction, while e CO 2 increased SO 4 2− concentration by enhancing SO 4 2− regeneration. S-DAMO rates mirrored these trends, with warming decreasing S-DAMO rates and e CO 2 stimulating them. These findings underscore the potential of climate change to alter soil AMO activities through changing SO 4 2− dynamics, highlighting the need to incorporate these processes in predictive models for more accurate representations of coastal wetland methane dynamics.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads6093

Authors: Jaehyun Lee, Yerang Yang, Hojeong Kang, Genevieve L. Noyce, J. Patrick Megonigal

Institutions: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Yonsei University

Language: English

Topic: Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,500