Fluxo de CO2 e CH4 em uma lagoa tropical (Pantanal, Brasil) com gradiente de turbidez

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems (lakes, rivers and reservoirs) play an essential role in carbon cycling in the continents. These environments are significant sources of greenhouse gases (GHG), especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), to the atmosphere. Despite the increase in the number of estimates, the natural GHG emissions dynamics in aquatic environments is still poorly studied, especially in the tropics. The general aim of this work was to estimate the CO2 and CH4 fluxes in a shallow tropical lake with turbidity gradient. The work was conducted in the Sinhá Mariana lake (MT), a wetland lake with the occurrence of two distinct hydrological regions; the lake is connected to the Mutum river (clear water), poor in suspended material with low turbidity, and connected to the Cuiabá River (turbid waters), which features high rate of suspension material. Samples were taken for characterizing the hydrological periods of high and low water. The temporal, spatial variation and the flood pulse shoed to be important factors affecting the CO2 flux, which ranged from -4.95 mmol m-2 d-1 to 282 mmol m-2 d-1. Significant differences were observed from one period to another, with higher emissions during high waters (142 ± 40 mmol m-2 d-1) and lower in the low water (2.3 ± 11.5 mmol m-2 d-1). In addition, the CO2 flux was significantly higher near the Mutum river and lower in the turbid region, in both periods. The total CH4 flux, although estimated only in high waters, showed the highest mean rates in the higher turbidity region of the lake (10.9 ± 6.9 mmol m-2 d-1), followed by the intermediate region (5.1 ± 3.9 mmol m-2 d-1) and the area influenced by clear water (2.5 ± 1.4 mmol m-2 d-1). The ebullition flux was the main CH4 emission pathway, responsible for 78% of the total flux. The turbidity gradient observed along the lake appeared to have been a determining factor in the flux dynamics of both CO2 and CH4. This study data reinforce the need for spatial sampling of CH4 and CO2 fluxes in tropical lakes, in addition to reinforcing that these fluxes can be controlled by turbidity and by the flood pulse (CO2).