Wetland Trees, a Significant Overlooked Source of Methane

For years, methane has been found in the atmosphere in the wetland areas. Recent studies done by a PhD student at The Open University show that the amount of methane in the atmosphere in these wetlands is significantly less than the levels shown by satellite. Most methane is believed to escape to the atmosphere through the soil, but there must be another route that allows the methane to escape, to make up for the amount that is missing. After more studies, it was found that the a possible alternate route of the methane is through the trees. The shortage of methane emissions when past studies were conducted could have been because the emissions from the trees were never considered. In order to confirm that the methane gas is actually escaping from the trees, the Natural Environment Research Council has granted funds for a three year study.
This study could lead to a new breakthrough. If we discover where the methane is coming from, we can create new ways of gathering it. Methane is used widely around the world as a source of heat, fuel, and other needs.
I believe that the research done in the wetlands may also lead to a larger interest in keeping our environment clean and safe. If it is shown that methane gas does actually escape from the trees at a higher level than the soil, there will be a new interest to keep these wetlands alive. Since methane is so widely used, it will be important to keep these trees and the wetlands safe from contamination, or any other factor that may lead to them dying off. I also feel that this is a very controversial topic, since methane is used to make fuel, which in turn leads to the contamination of our air and poisons our environment. Could we be trying to keep these wetlands safe, only to harvest methane, make fuel, and then hurt the environment more?

Article Link: http://phys.org/news/2013-02-wetland-trees-significant-overlooked-source.html