Articles | Volume 12, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-441-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-441-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Proglacial wetlands: an overlooked CO2 sink within recently deglaciated landscapes
Sigrid van Grinsven
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geomicrobiology, Faculty of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
Noortje E. M. Janssen
Hydrology and Environmental Hydraulics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Collin van Rooij
Soil Geography and Landscape, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Ruben Peters
Hydrology and Environmental Hydraulics, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Arnaud Temme
Department of Geography, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
Institute for Geography, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Sigrid van Grinsven, Natsumi Maeda, Clemens Glombitza, Mark A. Lever, and Carsten J. Schubert
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Algal blooms in lakes can cause large amounts of organic material to sink to the bottom, leading to low oxygen conditions and increased methane emissions. This study shows that adding oxygen to the bottom waters reduces methane emissions by 50 %, even after oxygen levels drop again. The effect was consistent across lakes with different nutrient levels. These findings suggest that oxygenation could be an effective strategy to reduce methane emissions in lakes.
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Agriculture relies heavily on plastic mulch films, which may be transported to aquatic environments. We investigated the breakdown of soil-biodegradable agricultural mulch films in lake sediments. After 40 weeks, films were intact, and no significant CO2 or CH4 was produced from the biodegradable mulch films. We conclude that the mulch films we used have a low biodegradability in lake sediments. The sediment lacks the microbes needed to break down the biodegradable plastics that were used here.
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Lake Lovojärvi is a nutrient-rich lake with high amounts of methane at the bottom, but little near the top. Methane comes from the sediment and rises up through the water but is consumed by microorganisms along the way. They use oxygen if available, but in deeper water layers, no oxygen was present. There, nitrite, iron and humic substances were used, besides a collaboration between photosynthetic organisms and methane consumers, in which the first produced oxygen for the latter.
Sigrid van Grinsven, Natsumi Maeda, Clemens Glombitza, Mark A. Lever, and Carsten J. Schubert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3979, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3979, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
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Algal blooms in lakes can cause large amounts of organic material to sink to the bottom, leading to low oxygen conditions and increased methane emissions. This study shows that adding oxygen to the bottom waters reduces methane emissions by 50 %, even after oxygen levels drop again. The effect was consistent across lakes with different nutrient levels. These findings suggest that oxygenation could be an effective strategy to reduce methane emissions in lakes.
Sigrid van Grinsven and Carsten Schubert
Biogeosciences, 20, 4213–4220, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4213-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4213-2023, 2023
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Agriculture relies heavily on plastic mulch films, which may be transported to aquatic environments. We investigated the breakdown of soil-biodegradable agricultural mulch films in lake sediments. After 40 weeks, films were intact, and no significant CO2 or CH4 was produced from the biodegradable mulch films. We conclude that the mulch films we used have a low biodegradability in lake sediments. The sediment lacks the microbes needed to break down the biodegradable plastics that were used here.
W. Marijn van der Meij, Arnaud J. A. M. Temme, Steven A. Binnie, and Tony Reimann
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We present our model ChronoLorica. We coupled the original Lorica model, which simulates soil and landscape evolution, with a geochronological module that traces cosmogenic nuclide inventories and particle ages through simulations. These properties are often measured in the field to determine rates of landscape change. The coupling enables calibration of the model and the study of how soil, landscapes and geochronometers change under complex boundary conditions such as intensive land management.
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Biogeosciences, 18, 3087–3101, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3087-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3087-2021, 2021
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Lake Lovojärvi is a nutrient-rich lake with high amounts of methane at the bottom, but little near the top. Methane comes from the sediment and rises up through the water but is consumed by microorganisms along the way. They use oxygen if available, but in deeper water layers, no oxygen was present. There, nitrite, iron and humic substances were used, besides a collaboration between photosynthetic organisms and methane consumers, in which the first produced oxygen for the latter.
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Editorial statement
The publication "Proglacial wetlands: an overlooked CO2 sink within recently deglaciated landscapes" is the first to report on wetlands in recently deglaciated areas. The study demonstrates that wetlands are an important component of these landscapes, but have unfortunately been overlooked in previous studies. As glaciers retreat around the globe, there has been rapid growth of research on deglaciation and its effects. This study provides timely insights that should influence future research in deglaciated landscapes emphasising the importance of including wet soils.
The publication "Proglacial wetlands: an overlooked CO2 sink within recently deglaciated...
Short summary
When glaciers retreat, new land surface is revealed. Using detailed glacial retreat maps, it is possible to determine for how long a location has been ice-free. That age is used in this study to analyse how fast carbon is incorporated into the soil. Our results show that the wetness of the soil strongly determines the CO2 uptake and carbon incorporation rates. Wetlands cover a small percentage of the land surface but are nonetheless important for the carbon storage in the deglaciated area.
When glaciers retreat, new land surface is revealed. Using detailed glacial retreat maps, it is...