The result is that algae can’t get enough food to cover the lake surface, which means methane-eating bacteria can do their jobs. That way, you reduce the nutrients in the lake, because breaking down plant matter would release nutrients into the water. ‘This removes the top layer of the lakebed, which consists mostly of dead plant matter. To solve those issues, Nijman decided to dredge some of the lakes. ‘That led to the same oxygen deprivation effect, and thus increased methane emissions’, according to the researcher. While he didn’t see any blue-green algae, the lakes’ surfaces did become covered by water ferns. The flora in Nijman’s mini lakes proliferated as well. #VOX NUTRITION SKIN SKIN#Humans themselves can also be affected, because blue-green algae are toxic, and it can make swimmers ill or cause skin conditions. Plants, insects, and fish thrive when the lake isn’t choked with algae. That’s not just bad for the environment, but also the ecosystem of the lake itself. More nitrogen and phosphates in a lake lead to more algae and blue-green algae, which in turn lead to more methane emissions. We get healthier lakes, and we reduce methane emissions’ Bacteria that produce methane work a lot harder in those kinds of oxygen-deprived environments, while bacteria that consume methane become far less effective.’ Those species block sunlight, causing underwater plants to die, which means they no longer produce oxygen breaking down those dead plants also costs a lot of oxygen. ‘That makes lakes very rich in nutrients, causing organisms such as algae and blue-green algae to thrive. ‘Lakes and ponds naturally emit methane’, according to Nijman, ‘but humans also affect the rate of emissions.’ This starts with agriculture, causing more nitrogen and phosphates to wind up in lakes. Nijman researched two methods for reducing those emissions and published the results in Science of the Total Environment last summer. An important undertaking, because methane is the most important greenhouse gas next to CO2, and half of all methane emissions come from places like lakes and ponds. #VOX NUTRITION SKIN HOW TO#The PhD candidate in aquatic ecology simulated the Wylerbergmeer to investigate how to reduce the methane emissions of bodies of freshwater. ‘We used a massive pump on a boat to pump mud up from the lake, and I brought it to the faculty, using buckets to fill those 16 little lakes.’ They’re all simulations of the Wylerbergmeer, a recreational pond east of Nijmegen. In front of him are 16 miniature lakes: round tubs with a 120cm diameter. In the summer of 2019, PhD candidate Tom Nijman could be seen lugging around buckets of mud behind the beta faculty. But to make that discovery, he first had to ‘replicate’ the Wylerbergmeer. PhD candidate Tom Nijman has discovered two methods that can drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from these places. Half of all methane emissions don’t come from industry, but from bodies of freshwater, such as lakes and ponds.
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