TeaComposition H₂O is a global-scale analysis of litter decomposition within wetland ecosystems using household tea bags or Tea Decomposition.

The approach involves a novel, scientific technique for measuring carbon decomposition at low cost with the use of tea bags (Keuskamp et al. 2013).

Two tea types (green and red, made by Lipton) with contrasting decomposability will serve as a model plant litter to elucidate microbial carbon cycling across ecosystems and climatic regions. The main goals are (1) to track the biomass and carbon loss during decomposition, and (2) analyze the microbial communities driving the decomposition process.

Background

Wetlands are among the world’s most effective ecosystems for carbon sequestration by trapping and storing greenhouse gasses naturally. Maintenance or loss of wetland ecosystems will therefore have profound impact on the Earth’s climate.

What is missing, however, is standardized information on how carbon retention varies among wetland types – i.e. why (and how) do some wetlands sequester carbon better than others, and thereby helping offset the atmospheric CO₂ pool?

Plant litter decomposition is the key process in the early sequestration/emission stage of the carbon cycle. At the foundation, microbial soil communities dictate the fate of the carbon, whether it be sequestered carbon or carbon emitted as carbon dioxide.

Program Scale

Tea bags have been deployed around the world in coastal wetlands (mangrove, tidal marshes, and seagrass), freshwater wetlands: bogs, fens, riverine, lacustrine) and aquatic ecosystems (seaweeds, streams, ponds).