Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires
Abstract Monitoring methane (CH4) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems is essential for assessing the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors leading to climate change and shaping global climate goals. Fires are a significant source of atmospheric CH4, with the increasing freque...
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| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56218-w |
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| author | Junri Zhao Philippe Ciais Frederic Chevallier Josep G. Canadell Ivar R. van der Velde Emilio Chuvieco Yang Chen Qiang Zhang Kebin He Bo Zheng |
| author_facet | Junri Zhao Philippe Ciais Frederic Chevallier Josep G. Canadell Ivar R. van der Velde Emilio Chuvieco Yang Chen Qiang Zhang Kebin He Bo Zheng |
| author_sort | Junri Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Monitoring methane (CH4) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems is essential for assessing the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors leading to climate change and shaping global climate goals. Fires are a significant source of atmospheric CH4, with the increasing frequency of megafires amplifying their impact. Global fire emissions exhibit large spatiotemporal variations, making the magnitude and dynamics difficult to characterize accurately. In this study, we reconstruct global fire CH4 emissions by integrating satellite carbon monoxide (CO)-based atmospheric inversion with well-constrained fire CH4 to CO emission ratio maps. Here we show that global fire CH4 emissions averaged 24.0 (17.7–30.4) Tg yr−1 from 2003 to 2020, approximately 27% higher (equivalent to 5.1 Tg yr−1) than average estimates from four widely used fire emission models. This discrepancy likely stems from undetected small fires and underrepresented emission intensities in coarse-resolution data. Our study highlights the value of atmospheric inversion based on fire tracers like CO to track fire-carbon-climate feedback. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-960b564860f44e5bb61db4f984f68721 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-960b564860f44e5bb61db4f984f687212025-01-19T12:29:49ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-011611910.1038/s41467-025-56218-wEnhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small firesJunri Zhao0Philippe Ciais1Frederic Chevallier2Josep G. Canadell3Ivar R. van der Velde4Emilio Chuvieco5Yang Chen6Qiang Zhang7Kebin He8Bo Zheng9Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua UniversityShenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua UniversityLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA‐CNRS‐UVSQ, Université Paris-SaclayCSIRO EnvironmentSRON Netherlands Institute for Space ResearchUniversidad de Alcalá, Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group, Department of Geology, Geography, and the EnvironmentDepartment of Earth System Science, University of California, IrvineMinistry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua UniversityState Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution ComplexShenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract Monitoring methane (CH4) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems is essential for assessing the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors leading to climate change and shaping global climate goals. Fires are a significant source of atmospheric CH4, with the increasing frequency of megafires amplifying their impact. Global fire emissions exhibit large spatiotemporal variations, making the magnitude and dynamics difficult to characterize accurately. In this study, we reconstruct global fire CH4 emissions by integrating satellite carbon monoxide (CO)-based atmospheric inversion with well-constrained fire CH4 to CO emission ratio maps. Here we show that global fire CH4 emissions averaged 24.0 (17.7–30.4) Tg yr−1 from 2003 to 2020, approximately 27% higher (equivalent to 5.1 Tg yr−1) than average estimates from four widely used fire emission models. This discrepancy likely stems from undetected small fires and underrepresented emission intensities in coarse-resolution data. Our study highlights the value of atmospheric inversion based on fire tracers like CO to track fire-carbon-climate feedback.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56218-w |
| spellingShingle | Junri Zhao Philippe Ciais Frederic Chevallier Josep G. Canadell Ivar R. van der Velde Emilio Chuvieco Yang Chen Qiang Zhang Kebin He Bo Zheng Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires Nature Communications |
| title | Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| title_full | Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| title_short | Enhanced CH4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| title_sort | enhanced ch4 emissions from global wildfires likely due to undetected small fires |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56218-w |
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