The forgotten methane source

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A plant chamber used to investigate methane formation in plants -- in this example in ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Image: Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics.
A plant chamber used to investigate methane formation in plants -- in this example, in ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Image: Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics.

In the last few years, more and more research has focused on the biosphere; particularly, on how gases which influence the climate are exchanged between the biosphere and atmosphere. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics have now carefully analysed which organic gases are emitted from plants. They made the surprising discovery that plants release methane, a greenhouse gas - and this goes against all previous assumptions.


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