Small ponds, more greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gas emissions from ponds have been overlooked in estimates of carbon flows and stocks. Photo: Reuters

Tiny ponds play a disproportionately large role in global greenhouse gas emissions from inland waters. Although ponds less than a quarter of an acre in size make up only 8.6% of the surface area of the world’s lakes and ponds, they account for 15.1% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 40.6% of diffusive methane emissions. The findings by Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies was recently published in journal Nature Geoscience.

“Our study is the first to include these small ponds in global estimates of CO2 and methane emissions, largely because they are difficult to map and were thought to play a small role in carbon cycling,” said study lead author and doctoral student Meredith Holgerson.