Methane release from soils of a Georgia salt marsh

A seasonal study of methane release from marsh soils to the atmosphere indicates that ebullition is a significant process varying both seasonally and spatially. Release rates are higher during summer months than winter months and ebullition is greatest in the short Spartina alterniflora marshes and least in the tall S. alterniflora marshes. The annual amounts of methane released in the short and tall marshes are 53.1 and 0.4 gm^?3 which represents a loss of 8.8 and 0.002% of the net carbon fixation in the two respective marsh types.In vitro experimentation shows that methane production is sensitive to changes in temperature and addition of H₂ and CO₂.