Okefenokee SwampInteractive Lesson:

The Production of Swamp Gas

What is Swamp Gas?

• Swamp gas is a mixture of gases that contain methane.

• Methane is produced by bacteria which decompose organic material in an anaerobic (anoxic) environment.

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic

• Decomposition can take place in an aerobic or in an anaerobic environment.

• Aerobic environment has free oxygen available.

• Anaerobic environment does not have free oxygen available.

• Aerobic decomposition produces CO2 while a decomposition in an anaerobic environment may produce methane (CH4).

Matter and Energy in the Ecosystem

• Ecosystems cycle matter and transfer energy.

• Producers fix energy from the sun which flows through food chains.

• Decomposers cycle matter in an ecosystem.

Some Top predators in the Okefenokee Swamp

•Decomposers cycle matter in the ecosystem

Methanogenesis

• Methanogenesis is the formation of methane by microorganisms called methanogens.

• Methanogens are a type of bacteria which live in an anaerobic environment, produce methane, and belong to the kingdom archaebacteria.

• Methanogens are common in wetland areas such as the Okefenokee Swamp where the sediments are anoxic.

What is the ecological role of methanogens?

• Methanogens play a key role in the decomposition and cycling of matter.

• Decomposition allows important nutrients to be released into the environment, making them available to other organisms.

• Swamp gas produced by methanogens is responsible for the formation of bogs in the Okefenokee Swamp.

• These floating bogs are responsible for giving the Okefenokee Swamp its name, the land of the trembling earth.

Major Chemical CyclesCarbon cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

Water (hydrologic) cycle

• Bog formation is the basis of ecological succession in the Okefenokee Swamp.

• Ecological succession describes the order of organisms which populate a newly formed habitat.

• The floating bogs provide habitat for many types of organisms.

The production of swamp gas is responsible for many of the unique characteristics of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Properties of Methane

• Methane is combustible.

• Combustion is a chemical reaction in which a substance rapidly combines with oxygen producing light and heat.

• Methane is the main component of natural gas.

Chemical Equation for the Combustion of Methane

Swamp Gas Collection