Scientists from the University of Nebraska and Colorado State University will carry out an integrated program of research on field micrometeorological measurements, process studies and modeling of methane and carbon dioxide fluxes in a boreal wetland ecosystem, as part of the BOREAS Project in Canada. The program has four components: 1. Quantification of surface exchange rates of methane and carbon dioxide at a boreal wetland site over the course of a growing season using the micrometeorological eddy correlation technique. 2. Evaluation of the variability of methane and carbon dioxide fluxes across the landscape using chambers. 3. Process studies (field experimental manipulations) to quantify the degree of substrate or nutrient limitations of methane production and oxidation. Responses of leaf photosynthesis, plant respiration and stomatal conductance of dominant vascular plant species to relevant controlling variables will be quantified experimentally. 4. Integration of the first three components to test and improve a model of decomposition and methane emission. The field measurements will allow temporal variation in fluxes of methane and carbon dioxide to be related to underlying biological and biophysical processes. These measurements are needed to support modeling of methane emission from northern wetland ecosystems.
