About This Project
Tree surfaces can be an effective approach for AMR, although foundational information is lacking. Here, we aim to develop a mapping of surface methanotrophy at various scales to advance tree-based (T) AMR technologies. We propose to combine high and mid-resolution activity detection, and LIDAR mappings of tree surfaces of boreal, temperate, and tropical trees for TAMR. Designing TAMR technologies requires robust evidence, a well-constrained magnitude of activity, and modeled upscaling.
Ask the Scientists
Join The DiscussionMotivating Factor
CH4 emissions have contributed ~0.5˚C of global warming to date(1), but such effect will only grow with the record-breaking increased emissions of the last years (20 Tg/year)(2). Most CH4 volumes are distributed at low concentrations (2ppm) and AMR approaches to oxidize 1-100 MtCH4/yr are needed to reduce the CH4-derived warming(3-5) tangibly.
The global forest area, estimated at billions of hectares, could be doubled via reforestation and management(6), where AMR services can be enhanced(7). Trees play significant roles in the CH4 cycle(8), through stem emissions (9-11), or stem atmospheric CH4 uptake. Stem uptake could remove CH4 at a scale of 10s Mt/yr globally(12). However, we point out that foliar surfaces could also strongly impact AMR, but little is documented for stem or leaf AMR's distribution or intervention potential(13). Coarse- and fine-grain tree flux values can allow evaluation of AMR magnitude or microbial mechanisms
Specific Bottleneck
· There is a limited collection of coarse-grain (cm) CH4 flux data of trees across species or biomes, which is needed to assess and develop forest-based technologies or practices to increase AMR or reduce emissions.
· Stem and leaf surfaces offer distinct conditions for methane consumption, with the latter being putatively more conductive. However, this has not been demonstrated, and leaf CH4 fluxes are severely understudied due to technical limitations.
· The lack of a platform to integrate methanotrophic activity in tree surfaces at fine-grain (for mechanistic validation), coarse-grain (for upscaling constraining), or forest structure limits simulating or the putative tracking of tree-based AMR applications.
· Fine-grain (microns to cm) spatial analysis of CH4 removal in tree surfaces is rare, but efforts that could identify the location, density, or activity of methanotrophs can be fundamental to test the controls of AMR on tree niches and manipulation potential.
Actionable Goals
We propose to develop a set of nested collaborative goals to map at fine and at coarse scale CH4 removal by tree surfaces and develop a modeling platform to simulate testing.
A. Optimize and deploy a new chamber system for leaf methanotrophy to constrain common artifacts and expand coarse-grain CH4 flux data across biomes and species.
B. Assess and harmonize previous CH4 flux data to then deploy a collaborative data collection of stem and foliar CH4 flux from multiple species across boreal, temperate, and tropical forests.
C. Integrate microhabitat recognition in trees with coarse-grain CH4-flux data and LIDAR-based forest model reconstruction to develop an approach capable of simulating a well-constrained upscaled potential of TAMR and simulating intervention strategies.
D. Collaborate with the development of a 13C isotopic spectroscopy detection of methanotrophic colonies for microns-to-millimeter scale activity mapping tree surfaces.
Budget
The absence of a suitable chamber in the case of the foliar data, approaches for representative upscaling, and limited engagement of interdisciplinary groups has limited the technological potential for TAMR . We leverage current resources (sensors, access to globally distributed plots, UAVs, super computer) and access to base data we collected from non-related efforts.
In this budget, we propose a de-risking investment for otherwise unavailable resources to support students (PhD and an MS) to advance these goals. Also, funds for optimizing and constructing low-cost chambers will allow to make it open access (since broad access to measurements and more data, we believe, will strengthen the potential and impact of TAMR). Finally, support for field expenses, including travel, materials, transport, and others, is requested as a critical step to generate base data and develop the modeling and upscaling strategy to test TAMR potential.
Meet the Team
Affiliates
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Team Bio
Our diverse team provides the wealth of experience,interdisciplinary knowledge, development of past projects, and current forefront advancements (chambers, sensors, plots, computational pipelines) needed to advance this stage of technology development successfully. The team has over 20 years of experience in studying the biology of trees (forestry), CH4 fluxes (field sciences), microbial activity (microbiology), LIDAR mapping (ecology), and sensor development (engineering).
Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz
Dr. Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz is a Professor at Arizona State University with a dual appointment in the School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute. He served as co-Director of the Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program at ASU, co-Leader of the Genomics, Evolution and Bioinformatics Faculty Group at SOLS, and a National Geographic Society explorer. Dr. Cadillo-Quiroz’s research focuses on understanding the sources, dynamics and uses of greenhouse gases at various scales. His studies span subjects on the microbial physiology of methanogens and methanotrophs, ecosystem studies of methane emissions, as well as collaborations on landscape-level assessments of atmospheric methane. As the lead of the Ecology of Microorganisms and Ecosystems laboratory at ASU, he undergoes projects focused on methane production, consumption, and possible microbial management in pure cultures, small to medium-scale bioreactors, as well as environments like landfills, northern forest, and tropical peatlands in the Amazon.
Dr. Cadillo-Quiroz received a B.S. degree from the San Marcos National University of Peru and his Ph.D. in Microbiology with a minor in Ecology from Cornell University. He completed a postdoctorate in the Evolution of Archaea at the University of Illinois and a second postdoctorate in Geochemistry and methane production processes at the University of Oregon. He has published over 60 articles in journals such as Nature, PNAS, PLoS Biology and several others. Dr. Cadillo-Quiroz currently serves as an editor for the Journal of Ecological Applications and Frontiers in Microbiology, and he is a reviewer for 15 other journals and organizations. He has been recognized with a Fulbright Scholarship, a Presidential Scholarship at Cornell University, a NSF CAREER Award, and a Honorific Doctorate in Forestry by the National University of the Peruvian Amazon.
Joel Peña Valdeiglesias
Joel Peña Valdeiglesias is a PhD in Sustainable Agriculture, M.Sc in Forestry and Forest Resource Management, a Professional Agronomist, and a Principal Professor at the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios (UNAMAD), with 20 years of experience in research. Currently, he is the head of the UNAMAD's Soils Research Laboratory. He has previously held the position of Dean of the School of Engineering and Head of the Academic Department of Engineering of the UNAMAD, as well as chairing or being a member of multiple advising committees at UNAMAD. His research focuses on studying the management and applications of agroforestry, reforestation, soil recovery, and soil pollution in the Amazon rainforest. He has completed research projects as a specialist in Plant Health at the Peruvian National Service of Agricultural Health, and as head of the Technical Department of the Fruit Growers Asociacion of the Yanatile Basin (AFRUCY), and as head of the soil research laboratory in the Central Confederation of Coffe Growers of Peru (COCLA).
Kathleen
Kathleen Savage is a Senior Research Scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center. She received her undergraduate in geography at York University, Toronto, Ontario Canada, and her Master of Science in geography at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has an external faculty appointment at the University of Maine Orono. Her research focuses on the impact of climate change on forest, wetland and agricultural ecosystems with an emphasis on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles in New England forests. She has designed and built automated systems for continuous greenhouse gas (methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) fluxes, including integrating low cost sensors, for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. She is a reviewer for scientific journals and competitive grants, including NSF and NSERC.
Shawn Fraver
Dr. Fraver is currently an Associate Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of Maine, USA. Before taking his current position (August 2013), Dr. Fraver was a faculty member in the Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, a Research Ecologist with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station (2007-2012), and a Post-Doctoral Associate at Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden (2004-2006). His research is field- and laboratory-based and covers a broad range of ecological topics, including forest carbon dynamics, old-growth forest structure, climate-growth relationships of forest trees, and woody debris attributes.
Dr. Fraver has a B.S. degree (Biology) from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. (Forestry) from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. (Forest Resources) from the University of Maine.
Songlin Fei
Songlin Fei, Dean’s Chair Professor of Remote Sensing and Director of the Institute for Digital Forestry, is a quantitative ecologist specializing in forest ecology, invasion ecology, and geospatial analytics at Purdue University. Dr. Fei’s forest ecology work includes impacts of climate change on forest dynamic and biodiversity-ecosystem function. Dr. Fei is also leading the integrated digital forestry initiative, which aims to revolutionize forestry from labor intensive, manual methods to an effective, precise, digital system by testing and adopting existing digital tools and by developing new tools, algorithms, and platforms for precision forest management and for public health improvement and mitigation.
Josh Hihath
Josh Hihath is director of the Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors and a professor in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering. He was previously a professor and Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California Davis. Prior to moving to UC Davis he was a research professor and lab manager at ASU. Professor Hihath received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, and master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Arizona State University. Professor Hihath is a senior member of the IEEE, was recently awarded the UC Davis Graduate Mentoring and Advising award and is an alum of the UC Davis Faculty Leadership Academy. Hihath’s work is centered at the nexus of engineering, chemistry, biology, and physics, and focuses on understanding the electrical and mechanical properties of nanoscale and molecular systems for applications in electronics, sensing (biological and the environment) and health care.
Additional Information
- This set of actionable goals would produce the first of its kind for a tree stem and canopy integrated dataset, which will have value for fundamental and technological studies.
- The group leverages access to characterized and multiyear forest plots along with access to cutting-edge approaches (and external collaboration on isotopic approaches) and pushes the envelope, seeking to develop new data integrations and simulations.
- A complimentary data-centered application (sequencing and isotopic sample processing) to generate expanded metagenomics and surface isotopic mapping information and delineate the genetic and metabolic potential of methanotrophic microbes is being pursued at annual DOE research programs.
- This application leverages field access (permits) and tested logistical support for research at various regions and their complexities.
- References
1. IPCC (2023) Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. (IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland), pp 35-115.
2. X. Lin et al., Recent methane surges reveal heightened emissions from tropical inundated areas. Nat Commun 15, 10894 (2024).
3. E. National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, A Research Agenda Toward Atmospheric Methane Removal (The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2024), doi:10.17226/27157, pp. 220.
4. S. Abernethy, M. I. Kessler, R. B. Jackson, Assessing the potential benefits of methane oxidation technologies using a concentration-based framework. Environmental Research Letters 18, 094064 (2023).
5. S. Abernethy, R. B. Jackson, Atmospheric methane removal may reduce climate risks. Environmental Research Letters 19, 051001 (2024).
6. J.-F. Bastin et al., The global tree restoration potential. Science 365, 76-79 (2019).
7. V. Gauci, Forests and methane: looking beyond carbon for nature-based climate solutions. Environmental Research Letters 19, 081005 (2024).
8. K. R. Covey, J. P. Megonigal, Methane production and emissions in trees and forests. New Phytol 222, 35-51 (2019).
9. J. van Haren et al., A versatile gas flux chamber reveals high tree stem CH4 emissions in Amazonian peatland. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 307, 108504 (2021).
10. S. R. Pangala et al., Large emissions from floodplain trees close the Amazon methane budget. Nature 552, 230-234 (2017).
11. J. Barba, P. E. Brewer, S. R. Pangala, K. Machacova, Methane emissions from tree stems – current knowledge and challenges: an introduction to a Virtual Issue. New Phytol 241, 1377-1380 (2024).
12. V. Gauci et al., Global atmospheric methane uptake by upland tree woody surfaces. Nature 631, 796-800 (2024).
13. M. R. Karim, M. A. Halim, S. C. Thomas, Foliar methane and nitrous oxide fluxes in tropical tree species. Science of The Total Environment 954, 176503 (2024).
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