A New Floodplain Experiment Begins
This week we started our new incubation experiment!
Our goal is to better understand how flooding influences CO₂ and CH₄ production in floodplain ecosystems. Specifically, we aim to:
• Quantify CO2 and CH4 production rates in temporarily inundated floodplain soils and littoral sediments.
• Determine how different flooding frequencies affect greenhouse gas production.
To do this, we collected littoral sediments from floodplain waters with varying degrees of connectivity to the river and floodplain soils exposed to different flooding regimes. The samples are now being incubated under controlled laboratory conditions, starting at 5°C.
Our experimental setup is designed to simulate different flooding frequencies and greenhouse gas production rates will be measured daily with LI-COR 7810. Over time, incubation temperatures will be gradually increased to mimic flooding events occurring during different seasons.
We are excited to see how these ecosystems respond to changing hydrological conditions and what this means for greenhouse gas emissions from floodplains in a changing climate.
