https://phys.org/news/2018-06-river-high.html

He said the contribution of intermittent rivers and streams to the process of carbon cycling—the process by which carbon is circulated around the ecosystem—is largely ignored.

"There is a substantial amount of plant litter that accumulates in dry riverbeds and when they flow again this material can breakdown rapidly. We've now estimated the potential short-term CO2 emissions during these rewetting events."