The importance of ditches and canals in global inland water CO2 and N2O budgets

Silverthorn, Teresa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6152-6573; Audet, Joachim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5839-8793; Evans, Chris D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7052-354X; van der Knaap, Judith ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7129-805X; Kosten, Sarian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2031-0965; Paranaíba, José ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0081-1295; Struik, Quinten ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7404-6963; Webb, Jackie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1274-363X; Wu, Wenxin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5551-2801; Yan, Zhifeng; Peacock, Mike ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3086-2854. 2025 The importance of ditches and canals in global inland water CO2 and N2O budgets. Global Change Biology, 31 (3), e70079. 12, pp. 10.1111/gcb.70079

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Abstract/Summary

Ditches and canals are omitted from global budgets of inland water emissions, despite research showing them to be emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Here, we synthesize data across climate zones and land use types to show, for the first time, that global ditches emit notable amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Ditches had higher per‐area emissions of CO2 and N2O than ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, likely due to high nutrient inputs. Preliminary upscaling showed that the inclusion of ditches would increase global inland water CO2 emissions by 0.6%–1% and N2O emissions by 3%–9%. Trophic state and climate influenced N2O emissions, while CO2 emissions had complex drivers difficult to disentangle at the global scale. This research highlights the importance of including ditches in global inland water GHG budgets and informs more accurate reporting of anthropogenic emissions in national inventories.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1111/gcb.70079
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Land-Atmosphere Interactions (2025-)
ISSN:	1354-1013
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	biogeochemistry, carbon dioxide, freshwater ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions, nitrous oxide
NORA Subject Terms:	Hydrology Atmospheric Sciences
Related URLs:	Dataset
Date made live:	12 Mar 2025 12:02 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/539077

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