Temporary lakes and ponds emit CO₂ during all year –even when they are dry-, and dry areas are the ones emitting a larger amount of carbon to the atmosphere. This phenomenon, described now for the first time, could have an impact on the global carbon cycle that controls Earth’s climate, according to a study led by the lecturer Biel Obrador, form the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, and Núria Catalán, from the Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA).
The new article, published in the journal Scientific Reports, changes the classic paradigm on the role of temporary lakes and ponds as emitters of carbon to the atmosphere and their impact on the planet’s greenhouse effect.
The role of continental waters in the global carbon cycle is still quite unknown ─despite its importance─ in particular in small or temporary aquatic systems (with dry periods). This is one of the first published studies on carbon fluxes over the hydrological cycle of temporary water systems, with a special interest both in flooded areas and areas without water (even during dry phases in summer).
According to the lecturer Biel Obrador (UB), first author of the article, “up to a decade ago, it was thought that continental waters had an irrelevant role on global fluxes regarding the atmosphere, as a result of the tiny area they occupy compared to big carbon compartiments, like the oceans”. Moreover, the researcher adds that “even small ponds ─which are not usually larger than a basketball court─, are the most frequent lacustrine ecosystems in the planet, the amount of knowledge on carbon cycle in freshwater ponds comes from big permanent lakes (with water during all year)”.
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Image via Universitat de Barcelona
