High carbon emissions from thermokarst lakes and their determinants in the Tibet Plateau

Thermokarst lakes are potentially important sources of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). However, considerable uncertainty exists regarding carbon emissions from thermokarst lakes owing to a limited understanding of their patterns and motivators. In this study, we measured CH4 and CO2 diffusive fluxes in 163 thermokarst lakes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) over 3 years from May to October. The median carbon emissions from the QTP thermokarst lakes were 1440 mg CO2 m(-2) day(-1) and 60 mg CH4 m(-2) day(-1), respectively. The diffusive rates of CO2 and CH4 are related to the catchment land cover type. Sediment microbial abundance and hydrochemistry explain 51.9% and 38.3% of the total variance in CH4 diffusive emissions, respectively, while CO2 emissions show no significant relationship with environmental factors. When upscaling carbon emissions from the QTP thermokarst lakes, the annual average CH4 release per lake area is equal to that of the pan-Arctic region. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating in situ observation data with different emission pathways for different land cover types in predicting carbon emissions from thermokarst lakes in the future.

Automated summary

This study measured CH4 and CO2 diffusive fluxes in 163 thermokarst lakes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau over 3 years, finding that the median carbon emissions were 1440 mg CO2 m(-2) day(-1) and 60 mg CH4 m(-2) day(-1). The diffusive rates of CH4 and CO2 were related to the catchment land cover type, with sediment microbial abundance and hydrochemistry explaining a significant portion of the variance in CH4 emissions. The study highlights the importance of incorporating in situ observation data and considering different emission pathways for predicting future carbon emissions from thermokarst lakes.