<p dir="ltr">Aquaculture ponds are hotspots of methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions. However, a mechanistic understanding of CH<sub>4</sub> production and emissions across diverse aquaculture pond types remains largely unknown. Through surveys of 20 aquaculture ponds representing diverse culture systems in (sub)tropical southern China, we examined CH<sub>4</sub> emissions (<i>F</i>CH<sub>4</sub>) and their underlying drivers. The dataset contains the physicochemical paramaters, dissolved CH<sub>4</sub> concentration and CH<sub>4</sub> emission flux of suface water in aquaculture ponds. Our study highlights the substantial CH4 fluxes in (sub)tropical aquaculture ponds and elucidates the key controls of salinity, organic matter availabity, and temperature on aquaculture pond CH4 emissions. These findings provide a framework for scaling the contribution of aquaculture ponds to the global CH4 budgets.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p>
Funding
Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Small Lentic Water Bodies