Atmospheric methane emissions increased after 2006, and a recent study conducted by a team of international scientists, including the CSIRO, says it’s likely due to wetlands and increased fossil fuel mining emissions.
Methane is 10 times more potent than C02, and wetlands emit the greenhouse gas through production of methane from anaerobic decomposition.
Levels stabilised in the early 2000s, possibly due to efficient wetland rice crop management. However levels rose in 2006 due to expanding wetlands and increased mining activity.
Fossil fuels account for 29% of anthropogenic methane emissions and agriculture accounts for 60%.
Read more at Nature Geoscience