Methane emmissionsand microbical communities from lakes

Wetlands, including lakes, are the main natural source of the potent greenhouse gas methane. Although methane emission from thawing permafrost has been intensively studied, little is known about emissions from the numerous lakes within the high-arctic landscape. In addition, the balance between methane producing and methane consuming microbial communities, and the impact of their community composition on methane flux, remains one of the largest uncertainties in Arctic methane emission predictions. Therefore, this proposal aims to quantify methane emissions from lakes on Edgeøya and Barentsøya, and relate this to the composition of the microbial communities responsible for these emissions