User:BanunuJAke/sandbox

Trees in both swampy wetlands and mountainous uplands  in swampy, low-lying areas can conduct methane stored and produced in soils up through their stems and out their leaves.

Other plants in bogs and marshes also act in this way. In the Amazon Rainforest, recent studies have named trees a "massive chimney for pumping out methane".[17] Findings estimated that the Amazon Rainforest emits around 40 million tons of methane a year; as much as the entire arctic permafrost systems.[18] When large portions of the Amazon Basin flood, they create ideal conditions for high-level methane production.[19] The methane flux is a result of abiotic factors such as soil moisture, climate etc. As seen in the figure 2 of the Quercus cerris tree in Hungary, a cool climate plant that demands moderate soil moisture can be observed to contain flammable concentrations of methane emitted from the stem contraption.(EUFORGEN) (Photo courtesy of Balazs Nyitrai) Trees are not the only plants that act as methane chimneys, however, studies have shown that species with greater root volume and biomass tend to exhibit a stronger chimney effect, and methane emissions in plant species are increased by raising the water table.[20]

Bibliography:
Tree Methane Research Annotated Bibliography

''' Jeffrey, L. C., Maher, D. T., Tait, D. R., Euler, S., & Johnston, S. G. (2020). Tree stem methane emissions from subtropical lowland forest (Melaleuca quinquenervia) regulated by local and seasonal hydrology. Biogeochemistry, 151(2-3), 273–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00726-y '''

The tree methane can vary depending on local topography and hydrological conditions, as the fluctuations in the plants ability to act as a sink varies largely. Similar to soil moisture, increase in moisture is observed to decrease the plants ability to act as a sink.

'''Covey, K.R. and Megonigal, J.P. (2019), Methane production and emissions in trees and forests. New Phytol, 222: 35-51. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15624 '''

Both dead and living trees acts as methane sinks. Looking into the difference over time, topography (upland vs wetland), size.The listed factors have the ability to change the trees ability to act as sinks. This includes the biological level, where the oxidation of methane trees are studied.

'''Inglis, G.A.S. Bacteria in tree bark are hungry for methane. Commun Biol 4, 738 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02264-1 '''

In pursuit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Methane oxidizing bacteria (M.O.B), a  prokaryote commonly found in soils of different climates have been located within the species “M. quinquenervia”. More specifically, within the barks of the plant. Furthermore, the application of the inhibitor “difluromethane”, has been found increasing levels of methane in the MOB relative to baseline conditions and limit methane emission from stems.