The spatial and temporal relationships between CO2 and CH4 exchange in a temperate ombrotrophic bog

We investigate the relationships between CO2 and CH4 fluxes across space and time at a temperate ombrotrophic bog in Canada to assess the coupling between plant production and CH4 emissions. Based on periodic manual chamber measurements, we show that maximum net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEEmax) was a good predictor of the spatial variations in CH4 flux among the wetter Eriophorum and lawn sites (r2 = 0.61–0.88), but not the drier hummock sites (r2 = 0.04–0.49). Also, we observed large interannual variability in the NEEmax-CH4 relationship at the Eriophorum and lawn sites, with a smaller regression slope in 2010 that had a seasonal mean water table 8 cm lower than in 2009. Results of cross-correlation of instantaneous gross ecosystem production (GEP) and CH4 flux from autochambers show a moderate relationship (σ = −0.31) in the Eriophorum community at a lag of 9–12 h, suggesting a rapid turnover of recent photosynthate for methanogenesis. On the other hand, we found in two Maianthemum-dominated chambers that the temperature-independent residuals of daily mean CH4 flux lagged behind GEP by 18–26 days at the seasonal scale. The lagged correlations between GEP and CH4 flux by month were particularly strong in the late growing season in the Eriophorum and Maianthemum/Ledum communities. Our results suggest the presence of spatial and temporal coupling of plant production and CH4 emissions in this bog, whose strength varies with species composition, water table position, and plant phenology.