Gross CO2 and CH4 emissions and carbon budget of the Nam Ngum and Nam Leuk subtropical Reservoirs in Lao PDR

International audienceGross CO2 and CH4 emissions (degassing and diffusion from the reservoir) and the carbon balance were assessed in 2009-2010 in two Southeast Asian sub-tropical reservoirs: the Nam Ngum and Nam Leuk Reservoirs (Lao PDR). These two reservoirs are within the same climatic area but differ mainly in age, size, residence time and initial biomass stock. The Nam Leuk Reservoir was impounded in 1999 after partial vegetation clearance and burning. However, GHG emissions are still significant 10 years after impoundment. CH4 diffusive flux ranged from 0.8 (January 2010) to 11.9 mmol m− 2 d− 1 (April 2009) and CO2 diffusive flux ranged from - 10.6 (October 2009) to 38.2 mmol m− 2 d− 1 (April 2009). These values are comparable to other tropical reservoirs. Moreover, degassing fluxes at the outlet of the powerhouse downstream of the turbines were very low. The tentative annual carbon balance calculation indicates that this reservoir was a carbon source with an annual carbon export (atmosphere + downstream river) of about 2.2 ± 1.0 GgC yr− 1. The Nam Ngum Reservoir was impounded in 1971 without any significant biomass removal. Diffusive and degassing CO2 and CH4 fluxes were lower than for other tropical reservoirs. Particularly, CO2 diffusive fluxes were always negative with values ranging from - 21.2 (April 2009) to - 2.7 mmol m−2 d−1 (January 2010). CH4 diffusive flux ranged from 0.1 (October 2009) to 0.6 mmol m−2 d−1 (April 2009) and no degassing downstream of the turbines was measured. As a consequence of these low values, the reservoir was a carbon sink with an estimated annual uptake of - 53 ± 35 GgC yr−1