Termite methane emissions, measured in the Amazon rainforest 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. Dataset A: Termite mound emissions Emissions from five termite mounds (nests) of the species Neocapritermes brasiliensis 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 . Dataset B: 'Individual' termite emissions 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−1 s−1), which is almost twice as high as the only other reported value for the Amazon. More information can be found in the following article: ‘van Asperen et al. (2021)-https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2020-384 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’

This research has been supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (grant no. 352322796)