Restored wetlands - potential hotspots for emissions of the green-house gas methane?

Wetlands are unique ecosystems delivering important ecosystem services to society. Due to extensive drainage only a minor fraction of the original wetland areas still remain in e.g. Europe.

During the last decades, wetland restoration has become a prioritized environmental protection action in many European countries.

Also the Swedish Government has defined wetland restauration as a major national undertaking, with numerous authorities and land owners actively involved.

The major objectives behind wetland restoration are increased biodiversity, increased carbon sequestration, increased surface water quality or increased ground water storage. However wetland restoration also cause fundamental changes in biogeochemical properties.

In addition, a century or more of drained conditions has drastically changed the soil properties in relation to natural wetlands and thus the potential for various biogeochemical processes. Methane production is one key process that will develop in response to wetland restauration. Methane is the second most important green-house gas after carbon dioxide.

The overall aim of the project is to identify properties of rewetted wetlands that are critical for methane production and methane oxidation, and compare these with the situation in natural, undisturbed wetlands.

Understanding these biological systems will be fundamental to develop strategies for minimizing emissions of the greenhouse gas methane following wetland restoration.