Carbon Sequestration and Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction in Aquatic Systems

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 1661

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Climate Change at Eurecat, Technological Centre of Catalonia, Amposta, Catalonia, Spain
Interests: climate resilience; coastal management; aquatic ecology; water resources; rice production; nature-based solutions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Climate Change at Eurecat, Technological Centre of Catalonia, Amposta, Catalonia, Spain
Interests: climate resilience; biodiversity; nature-based solutions; aquatic ecology; fish biology; bioindicators

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic systems, both natural (wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, etc.) and artificial (rice fields, aquaculture ponds, wastewater treatment plants, etc.) are key elements of the earth’s landscape in terms of climate regulation. They have the capacity to sequester a significant amount of carbon but can also be considerable contributors of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as methane, depending on how they are managed and restored. Thus, it is of great importance to investigate and demonstrate aquatic systems’ capacity to contribute to climate neutrality through applied research aimed at optimizing their carbon balance, biodiversity and other ecosystem services (water cycle regulation, water purification, food provisioning, etc.). This Special Issue welcomes papers considering the many dimensions of climate regulation related to aquatic systems, such as monitoring methods, carbon cycle modeling, ecosystem restoration, management of wetlands, rice fields and aquaculture ponds, large-scale GHG emission patterns, new techniques to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration, etc.

Dr. Carles Ibáñez
Dr. Nuno Caiola
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • carbon sequestration
  • methane
  • climate regulation
  • wetlands
  • rice fields

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

26 pages, 2322 KiB  
Review
Understanding How Reservoir Operations Influence Methane Emissions: A Conceptual Model
by Henriette I. Jager, Rachel M. Pilla, Carly H. Hansen, Paul G. Matson, Bilal Iftikhar and Natalie A. Griffiths
Water 2023, 15(23), 4112; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15234112 - 27 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1227
Abstract
Because methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), understanding controls on methane emissions from reservoirs is an important goal. Yet, reservoirs are complex ecosystems, and mechanisms by which reservoir operations influence methane emissions are poorly understood. In part, this is because emissions occur [...] Read more.
Because methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), understanding controls on methane emissions from reservoirs is an important goal. Yet, reservoirs are complex ecosystems, and mechanisms by which reservoir operations influence methane emissions are poorly understood. In part, this is because emissions occur in ‘hot spots’ and ‘hot moments’. In this study, we address three research questions, ‘What are the causal pathways through which reservoir operations and resulting water level fluctuations (WLF) influence methane emissions?’; ‘How do influences from WLF differ for seasonal drawdown and diurnal hydropeaking operations?’; and ‘How does understanding causal pathways inform practical options for mitigation?’. A graphical conceptual model is presented that links WLF in reservoirs to methane emissions via four causal pathways: (1) water-column mixing (2) drying–rewetting cycles, (3) sediment delivery and redistribution, and (4) littoral vegetation. We review what is known about linkages for WLF at seasonal and diurnal resolutions generate research questions, and hypothesize strategies for moderating methane emissions by interrupting each causal pathway. Those related to flow management involve basin-scale management of tributary flows, seasonal timing of hydropeaking (pathway #1), timing and rates of drawdown (pathway #2). In addition, we describe how sediment (pathway #3) and vegetation management (pathway #4) could interrupt linkages between WLF and emissions. We demonstrate the strength of conceptual modeling as a tool for generating plausible hypotheses and suggesting mitigation strategies. Future research is needed to develop simpler models at appropriate timescales that can be validated and used to manage flow releases from reservoirs. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop