Permafrost in northern latitude ecosystems is becoming increasingly susceptible to climate warming, with strong implications for changes in carbon (C) cycling (Biskaborn et al., 2019; Bush and Lemmen 2019). Much of the surface permafrost temperature in interior Alaska is just below the freezing point of water (Romanovsky et al., 2010), such that it is nearing a phase change. Models predict that interior Alaska, southern Canada, and southern Siberia will experience widespread loss of surface permafrost (top 1-2 m) this century (Schaefer et al., 2011), vastly transforming ecosystems and disturbance regimes (Lara et al., 2016). This prediction is also significant because permafrost soils contain large quantities of C that could be released as CO 2 or CH 4 to the atmosphere, thereby creating a positive feedback to climate warming (McGuire Abstract Permafrost thaw in northern ecosystems may cause large quantities of carbon (C) to move from soil to atmospheric pools. Because soil microbial communities play a critical role in regulating C fluxes from soils, we examined microbial activity and greenhouse gas production soon after permafrost thaw and ground collapse (into collapse-scar bogs), relative to the permafrost plateau or older thaw features. Using multiple field and laboratory-based assays at a field site in interior Alaska, we show that the youngest collapse-scar bog had the highest CH 4 production potential from soil incubations, and, based upon temporal changes in porewater concentrations and 13 C-CH 4 and 13 C-CO 2 , had greater summer in situ rates of respiration, methanogenesis, and surface CH 4 oxidation. These patterns could be explained by greater C and N availability in the young bog, while alternative terminal electron accepting processes did not play a significant role. Field diffusive CH 4 fluxes from the young bog were 4.1 times greater in the shoulder season and 1.7-7.2 times greater in winter relative to older bogs, but not during summer. Greater relative CH 4 flux rates in the shoulder season and winter could be due to reduced CH 4 oxidation relative to summer, magnifying the importance of differences in production. Both the permafrost plateau and collapse-scar bogs were sources of C to the atmosphere due in large part to winter C fluxes. In collapse scar bogs, winter is a critical period when differences in thermokarst age translates to differences in surface fluxes. Plain Language Summary Permafrost thaw is occurring in Alaska which may result in a positive feedback to climate warming, due to the release of greenhouse gases such as CO 2 and CH 4 from soils. Here we examined greenhouse gas production along a gradient of "time since thaw," hypothesizing that fluxes and microbial activities would be highest soon after thaw, and then decline. We observed highest rates of microbial activities, particularly methanogenesis, soon after thaw, coinciding with less decomposed organic matter and higher concentrations of dissolved carbon and nitrogen in soil, possibly of permafrost origin. However, field flu...