ABSTRACT
The static chamber technique was chosen because it has been the most useful and reported technique in measuring greenhouse gases (GHG) from wastewater plants, aquatic ecosystems and soils. The tropical conditions are characterized by high temperatures, long and stable photoperiods, photosynthetic activity, high levels of bacterial and algal activity, and dynamics in dissolved oxygen and pH patterns which may influence GHG dynamics differently compared to temperate conditions. As a result, eutrophication affects the freshwater wetland biogeochemistry, leading to acceleration of the exchange of greenhouse gases between freshwater wetlands and the atmosphere. In Colombia only 9% of wastewater is treated and of this total 55% are treated in wastewater stabilization ponds. The dissolved methane would lead to reduced energy efficiency of the anaerobic process for municipal wastewater treatment and increase the risk of its release into the environment in the subsequent treatments i.e. secondary facultative ponds.
