Methane emissions may be driven by hydrogenotrophic methanogens inhabiting the stem tissues of poplar

Living trees in forests emit methane (CH₄ ) from their stems. However, the magnitudes, patterns, drivers, origins, and biogeochemical pathways of these emissions remain poorly understood. We measured in situ CH₄ fluxes in poplar stems and soils using static chambers and investigated the microbial communities of heartwood and sapwood by sequencing bacterial 16S, archaeal 16S, and fungal ITS rRNA genes. Methane emissions from poplar stems occurred throughout the sampling period. The mean CH₄ emission rate was 2.7 mg m^-2  stem d^-1 . Stem CH₄ emission rate increased significantly with air temperature, humidity, soil water content, and soil CH₄ fluxes, but decreased with increasing sampling height. The CO₂ reduction and methylotrophic methanogenesis were the major methanogenic pathways in wood tissues. The dominant methanogen groups detected in stem tissues were Methanobacterium, Methanobrevibacter, Rice Cluster I, Methanosarcina, Methanomassiliicoccus, Methanoculleus, and Methanomethylophilaceae. In addition, three methanotrophic genera were identified in the heartwood and sapwood - Methylocystis, Methylobacterium, and Paracoccus. Overall, stem CH₄ emissions can originate directly from the internal tissues or co-occur from soils and stems. The co-existence of methanogens and methanotrophs within heartwood and sapwood highlights a need for future research in the microbial mechanisms underlying stem CH₄ exchange with the atmosphere.