This session will focus on the investigation of the three major greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with a strong focus on methane (CH4) and/or nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. Given the fact that both CH4 and N2O emissions from land or water bodies (lakes, reservoirs and streams) can easily offset known carbon sinks (when converted to CO2-eq.), and that knowledge on the drivers of CH4/N2O as well as their temporal and spatial variability is still lacking, we encourage measuring, monitoring and modeling studies of both greenhouse gases.
Studies that focus on testing hypotheses, isolating mechanisms and processes, upscaling, and identifying knowledge gaps are of particular interest. With this session we aim to integrate both the aquatic and terrestrial communities that study GHG budget. Therefore studies that already link terrestrial and aquatic GHG budgets would be most suitable for this session, however studies that present only one or the other are still encouraged stimulating discussions regarding the lack of interaction between the two sides. The fact that the GHG budget of any aquatic system is affected by the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem (or vice versa) can no longer be ignored. This session gives us the chance to cross-compare the contribution of these non-CO2 gases to the GHG budget from the biosphere as well as begin building the bridge between the two different yet important components of the system. Our session is linked to the goals of ICOS, FLUXNET and iLEAPS aiming at harmonizing and integrating trace gas flux measurements around the globe.