Unraveling the overlooked dissolved methane and nitrous oxide concentration hotspots and their causes in higher carbon level environments

Inland waters are sources of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions and serve as nutrient sinks. However, the interactions between nutrient inputs and greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics remain unclear. Here, field investigations and model simulations were conducted in two regions of Dongting lake characterized by different carbon and nitrogen levels. The results reveal that high carbon levels promote CH₄ production, inhibit CH₄ oxidation, and promote incomplete denitrification process when nitrogen is relatively abundant. Consequently, dissolved CH₄ and N₂O concentrations are 40.49 % and 28.61 % higher in carbon-dominated regions than in nitrogen-dominated regions, respectively. A global dataset containing 34,519 GHGs sampling sites is compiled, and response curves are generated to examine the relationship between dissolved GHG concentrations and environmental variables. These curves confirm that the trends observed in Dongting lake are consistent with global patterns. A four-stage impact of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on dissolved N₂O concentration is proposed, helping to reconcile the differences in environmental characteristics on coexisting hotspots of dissolved CH₄ and N₂O concentrations reported in different studies. Our research indicates that, when nitrogen is abundant, higher carbon levels significantly promote the widespread formation of dissolved CH₄ and N₂O concentration co-existing hotspots, but they are often overlooked. This study provides insights into the relationship between nutrient inputs and GHGs dynamics.