Quantitative Fluxes of the Greenhouse Gases CH4 and CO2 from the Surfaces of Selected Polish Reservoirs

Abstract

Research carried out in the years 2009–2011 and 2018–2019 sought to determine the magnitudes of fluxes of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the surfaces of three eutrophic reservoirs in SE Poland. The “static chamber” method was deployed at five or six stations located along the reservoirs, where the water column at its deepest slightly exceeds 2 m. Obtained values for the fluxes of CH4 varied across a wide (0–2513.48 mmol·m−2·d−1) range, with many of these values therefore exceeding those characteristics for large tropical reservoirs. The reservoirs studied were not found to differ significantly in terms of average CH4 flux, however. Where obtained values for CO2 fluxes in the range from −10.96 to 621.69 mmol·m−2·d−1 were concerned, most fell within the range given for temperate-zone reservoirs, while differences between reservoirs were noted for average values in this case.