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Visualizing Methane-Cycling Microbial Dynamics in Coastal Wetlands
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972
Methane fluxes in aerobic soils
K W Goulding1, T W Willison, C P Webster
1Soil Science Department, IACR-Rothamsted, AL5 2JQ, Harpenden, Herts, UK.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
|November 7, 2013
Summary
Aerobic soils are vital for methane destruction, but land management and nitrogen fertilizers can inhibit this process. Ammonium-based fertilizers and long-term cultivation significantly reduce methane uptake by soil microbes.
Area of Science:
- Soil science
- Environmental microbiology
- Biogeochemistry
Background:
- Aerobic soils act as a significant global sink for atmospheric methane (CH4), responsible for up to 15% of its destruction.
- Methane (CH4) sink strength is demonstrably influenced by land management practices, nitrogen (N) fertilization, and soil acidity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify methane (CH4) uptake rates in diverse soil types under varying land management and fertilization regimes.
- To investigate the impact of ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) fertilizers, farmyard manure (FYM), and soil acidity on microbial methane oxidation.
Main Methods:
- Laboratory incubations of soil cores from UK and German sites under controlled conditions.
- Measurement of CH4 uptake rates at both ambient (2 ppmv) and enhanced (10 ppmv) atmospheric concentrations.
- Assessment of microbial mediation of CH4 uptake through autoclaving experiments.
Main Results:
- Methane (CH4) uptake was most rapid in acidic deciduous woodland soil (pH 4).
- 150 years of arable cultivation reduced CH4 uptake by 85% compared to adjacent woodland.
- Long-term ammonium (NH4+)-based fertilizer application completely inhibited CH4 uptake, while nitrate (NO3-) and farmyard manure (FYM) did not.
Conclusions:
- Methane (CH4) oxidation in soils is microbially mediated and sensitive to land management and nitrogen inputs.
- Ammonium (NH4+) ions and associated fertilizers likely inhibit methanotrophs by direct toxicity or suppression.
- Arable cultivation's disturbance of soil structure may also impair methane (CH4) oxidation efficiency.
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