Coastal freshwater forested wetlands are rapidly transitioning from forest to marsh, leaving behind many standing dead trees (snags) in areas often called ‘ghost forests’. Snags can act as conduits for soil produced greenhouse gases (GHG) and can also be sources as they decompose. Thus, snags have the potential to contribute GHGs to the atmosphere, but emissions are not well understood. We assessed GHG emissions (carbon dioxide—CO₂, methane—CH₄, and nitrous oxide—N₂O) from snags and soils in five ghost forests along a salinity gradient on the coast of North Carolina, USA. Mean (± SE) soil GHG fluxes (416 ± 44 mg CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹, 5.9 ± 1.9 mg CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹, and 0.1 ± 0.06 mg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹) were ~ 4 times greater than mean snag GHGs (116 ± 15 mg CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹, 0.3 ± 0.09 mg CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹, and 0.04 ± 0.009 mg N₂O m⁻² h⁻¹). Hydrological conditions and salinity influenced soil GHG fluxes between the two field campaigns, but snags were less predictable and more variable. Snag and soil CO₂/N₂O fluxes were influenced by similar environmental parameters. The drivers for soil and snag CH₄ however, were often not the same and at times oppositely correlated. Our results illustrate the need to further research into the drivers and importance of GHG emissions from snags, and the need to include tree stems into ecosystem GHG research.

沿海淡水森林湿地正迅速从森林过渡到沼泽，在通常被称为“幽灵森林”的地区留下了许多站立的枯树。障碍物可以充当土壤产生的温室气体（GHG）的管道，也可以作为分解源。因此，障碍物有可能将GHG排放到大气中，但是对排放的了解却很少。我们评估了美国北卡罗莱纳州沿海沿盐度梯度分布的五个幽灵森林的障碍物和土壤中的温室气体排放量（二氧化碳-CO ₂，甲烷-CH ₄和一氧化二氮-N ₂ O）。平均（±SE）的土壤的温室气体通量（416±44毫克的CO ₂米^-2  ħ ^-1，5.9±1.9毫克CH ₄米^-2  ħ ^-1和0.1±0.06毫克N- ₂ ö米^-2  ħ ^-1）比平均抽丝温室气体（116±15毫克的CO更大〜4倍₂米^-2  ħ ^-1，0.3±0.09毫克CH ₄ m ^-2  h ^-1和0.04±0.009 mg N ₂ O m ^-2  h ^-1）。水文条件和盐度影响了两次田间运动之间的土壤温室气体通量，但断层的可预测性较差且变化较大。障碍物和土壤中的CO ₂ / N ₂ O通量受到相似环境参数的影响。CH和土壤障碍的驱动因素然而，₄通常并不相同，有时是相反的。我们的结果表明，有必要进一步研究障碍物温室气体排放的驱动因素和重要性，并且需要将树干纳入生态系统温室气体研究。