Natural wetland emissions of methylated trace elements
Open accessAbstract
Natural wetlands are well known for their significant methane emissions. However, trace element emissions via biomethylation and subsequent volatilization from pristine wetlands are virtually unstudied, even though wetlands constitute large reservoirs for trace elements. Here we show that the average volatile fluxes of selenium (<0.12 μg m(-2) day(-1)), sulphur (<37 μg m(-2) day(-1)) and arsenic (<0.54 μg m(-2) day(-1)) from a pristine peatland are considerable and consistent over two summers. We compare these fluxes with the total concentrations in the peat and show that selenium is up to 40 times more efficiently volatilized than arsenic, and over 100 times more efficiently volatilized than sulphur. We further show that the volatilization of selenium and arsenic increases with temperature, implying that emissions of these health-relevant trace elements will increase with global warming. We suggest that biomethylation and volatilization in wetlands play a crucial role in the mobilization and global biogeochemical cycling of trace elements.
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The relative enrichment of selenium over sulfur is corroborated by direct measurements of methylated selenium and sulfur species in seawater and in a pristine wetland and by elemental analysis of aerosols.
“This relative enrichment of Se over S is corroborated by direct measurements of methylated Se and S species in seawater [91] and in a pristine wetland [94] by elemental analysis of aerosols [45,95].”
From Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review (2015) · cites this paper as [94]
There is a limited number of studies that have quantified Se fluxes from terrestrial environments, especially in natural, pristine environments.
“Similar to measurements of Se emissions from the ocean (see Section 3.2), there is a limited number of studies that have quantified Se fluxes from terrestrial environments, especially in natural, pristine environments [94].”
From Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review (2015) · cites this paper as [94]
Recently, direct flux-chamber measurements of Se emissions in a pristine wetland showed that Se fluxes can be substantial: an average volatile flux of 0.12 mg·m−2·day−1 was measured.
“Recently, direct flux-chamber measurements of Se emissions in a pristine wetland showed that Se fluxes can be substantial: an average volatile flux of 0.12 mg·m−2·day−1 was measured [94].”
From Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review (2015) · cites this paper as [94]
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Selenium Cycling Across Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interfaces: A Critical Review
Winkel, L., Vriens, B., Jones, G., Schneider, L., Pilon-Smits, E., & Bañuelos, G. (2015) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu7064199 · Cited by 476 · see citing works
“2), there is a limited number of studies that have quantified Se fluxes from terrestrial environments, especially in natural, pristine environments [94].”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citation
- Authors
- Vriens, B., Lenz, M., Charlet, L., Berg, M., & Winkel, L. H. E.
- Affiliations
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (CH)
- Université Joseph Fourier (FR)
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Winkel, Lenny H.E.
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2014-01-08
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3035-3035
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2085459449
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 6.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- DORA Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- European Commission (MRTN-CT-2006-035420)
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (133619)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Coal and Its By-products
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Mercury impact and mitigation studies
- Keywords
- trace element emissions, selenium, arsenic, sulfur, biomethylation, volatilization, peatlands, volatile fluxes, temperature dependence, global warming, wetland methane emissions
- MeSH terms
- Arsenic, Methylation, Selenium, Sulfur, Switzerland, Temperature, Trace Elements, Volatilization, Wetlands, Global Warming
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