CO2 and CH4 exchange in an undisturbed coastal forested wetland in North Carolina

The use of ecosystems for managing the extent of radiative forcing on climate requires the consideration of the exchanges of all major greenhouse gas species. In wetlands, these are CO2 and CH4, whereas N2O emissions are considered negligible, albeit highly uncertain. Although wetlands have accumulated large pools of carbon over millennia and can be considered net carbon sinks, the high global warming potential of emitted CH4 can offset large amounts of net carbon uptake in the form of CO2. This poses a new metric to be considered alongside with other services provided by these ecosystems. We will report on the exchange of CO2 and CH4 over a coastal forested wetland in North Carolina, and the tradeoffs between them during different hydrological phases.