Methane emissions from Alaska Arctic tundra: An assessment of local spatial variability

Methane flux was measured in situ in the Alaska Arctic tundra to assess the magnitude and controls on spatial variability of emissions. A total of 122 measurements were made at 57 spatially independent sites across the Alaska North Slope during the summer of 1987. Variability in rates of emissions was similar in magnitude on local and regional scales, ranging from 0 to 286.5 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 overall and often varying across two orders of magnitude within 0.5‐m distances. Primary control on rates of emissions was determined by the substrate and the position of the water table relative to the surface. Secondary controls were defined by the substrate temperature and the type and quantity of vegetation participating in the plant‐mediated release of CH 4 to the atmosphere. Emission rates in the Arctic Foothills ranged from 0.2 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 for tussock tundra to 55.3 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 over wet meadows. Within the Arctic Coastal Plain, rates of emissions were highest on inundated terrestrial sites (72.2 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 ), decreasing nearly 12 fold on comparable sites where the water table was 5 cm or more below the surface (6.1 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 ). Emission rates increased linearly with substrate temperatures at 10‐cm depth, increasing nearly ninefold over the 6°C temperature range observed. Plant mediated release of CH 4 to the atmosphere was directly proportional to green leaf area and represented 92–98% of the total emission rates over vegetated sites. Comparisons between boreal studies reflect similarities in environmental controls on emissions at local‐to‐regional scales and demonstrate the sensitivity of regional to global estimates to sampling bias. These results suggest that current published emissions rates may have overestimated the contribution of boreal ecosystems to the global CH 4 budget by several fold.