Tropical peatlands are a globally important source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Vegetation is critical in regulating fluxes, providing a conduit for emissions and regular carbon inputs. However, plant roots also release oxygen, which might mitigate methane efflux through oxidation prior to emission from the peat surface. Here we show, using in situ mesocosms, that root exclusion can reduce methane fluxes by a maximum of 92% depending on species, likely driven by the significant decrease in root inputs of oxygen and changes in the balance of methane transport pathways. Methanotroph abundance decreased with reduced oxygen input, demonstrating a likely mechanism for the observed response. These first methane oxidation estimates for a tropical peatland demonstrate that although plants provide an important pathway for methane loss, this can be balanced by the influence of root oxygen inputs that mitigate peat surface methane emissions.

中文翻译：

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根系氧气减轻热带泥炭地的甲烷通量

热带泥炭地是全球重要的甲烷来源，甲烷是一种强效温室气体。植被在调节通量方面至关重要，为排放和常规碳输入提供了渠道。然而，植物根部也会释放氧气，这可能会在从泥炭表面排放之前通过氧​​化减少甲烷流出。在这里，我们显示，使用原位中观，根系排除可以根据物种将甲烷通量减少最多 92%，这可能是由于根部氧气输入的显着减少和甲烷传输途径平衡的变化所致。甲烷氧化菌丰度随着氧气输入的减少而降低，这表明观察到的反应可能存在机制。这些对热带泥炭地的首次甲烷氧化估计表明，虽然植物为甲烷流失提供了重要途径，