Termite methane emissions, measured in the Amazon rainforest

<strong>Termite methane emissions, measured in the Amazon rainforest</strong> The magnitude of termite methane (CH₄) emissions is still an uncertain part of the global CH₄ budget and current emission estimates are based on limited field studies. This dataset presents in situ CH₄ and CO₂ emission measurements of termite mounds (dataset A) and termite mound subsamples (dataset B) performed in the Amazon rainforest (fieldsite ZF2, INPA, -2.6091, -60.2093, 50 km northwest of Manaus, Brazil) in March 2020. A repetition of the measurements was performed in October and December 2020. <strong>Dataset A: Termite mound emissions</strong><br> Emissions from five termite mounds (nests) of the species <em>Neocapritermes brasiliensis</em> were measured by use of a large flux chamber (220L) connected to a portable gas analyser (Los Gatos Research). The flux chamber was placed over the mound for 20 minutes, during which time concentrations of CH₄ and CO₂ were measured. By use of linear regression over the concentration increase, mound CH₄ and CO₂ emissions could be calculated. Each mound was measured 4 times. The dataset gives the details of each mound (height, volume, termite species) and shows the measured CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes. Mound emissions were found to range between 17.0 and 34.8 nmol mound⁻¹ s⁻¹ for CH₄ and between 1.1 and 13.0 μmol mound⁻¹ s⁻¹ for CO₂ . <br> <strong>Dataset B: 'Individual' termite emissions</strong><br> From the five termite mounds, small subsamples were sampled, and the emission of each piece was measured. Afterwards, samples were carefully broken open, and termites were counted. With these measurements, a termite emission factor (emission per termite) could be calculated. The dataset shows the measured emission per subsample, and the amount of counted termites. A termite emission factor of 0.35 μmol CH₄ g⁻¹ h⁻¹ was found (0.0002985 nmol termite⁻¹s⁻¹), which is almost twice as high as the only other reported value for the Amazon. <strong>More information can be found in the following article:<br> ‘van Asperen et al. (2021)-https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-384</strong> <em>van Asperen, H., Alves-Oliveira, J. R., Warneke, T., Forsberg, B., de Araújo, A.C., and Notholt, J, The role of termite CH₄ emissions on the ecosystem scale: a case study in the Amazon rainforest, Biogeosciences’</em>