Laboratory experiment demonstrates that iron enhances carbon greenhouse gas emissions in tropical peatlands, indicating potential climate change implications.
Iron (Fe) acts as a terminal electron acceptor (TEA) for microbes under oxygen limiting condition, leading to organic matter (OM) decomposition and emission of carbon greenhouse gases (C-GHG) in peatlands. The underlying molecular mechanism governing this phenomenon is not fully understood. Here, we investigate the role of Fe(III) in C-GHG production using a muti-omics approach through a lab-based microcosm experiment on tropical peat collected from three different depths of an Acacia plantation site. Fe(III) amendment leads to several folds higher production of CO2 and CH4 than unamended setups. Moreover, the gas profile correlates with depletion of carbohydrate compounds in the upper and middle depths, indicating microbial preference for readily fermentable substrates, aligning with increased CO2 production as well as the enrichment of fermentative microbes and genes associated with complex organic carbon degradation. Our study highlights the underestimated role of Fe(III) in carbon transformation and potentially exacerbating climate change impacts on tropical peatlands.
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Laloo et al. (2026) studied this question.
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