Looking at methane sources in the right light

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A methane source in the sunlight: Plants form the greenhouse gas under UV radiation which is also part of sunlight. A large proportion of the gas is released from pectin - a bio-polymer from which the supporting structures of flowers and leaves is ma ...
A methane source in the sunlight: Plants form the greenhouse gas under UV radiation, which is also part of sunlight. A large proportion of the gas is released from pectin - a bio-polymer from which the supporting structures of flowers and leaves is made. Image: Frank Keppler / MPI for Chemistry

Plants store one greenhouse gas, but emit another. Whereas they bind carbon dioxide, they release methane - albeit in small quantities. This has now been confirmed by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, the University of Utrecht and the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in Belfast.


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