Methane Consumption in Temperate and Subarctic Forest Soils: Rates, Vertical Zonation, and Responses to Water and Nitrogen

Adamsen, Anders Peter S.; King, Gary M.

doi:10.1128/aem.59.2.485-490.1993

Cited by 365 publications

(179 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…Hence, we propose that the inverse relationship between nitrification and CH 4 consumption in the fertilized soils in the Harvard Forest results from NH þ 4 stimulation of nitrifier growth, combined with simultaneous but independent NH þ 4 inhibition of methanotroph activity, and that CH 4 consumption is dominated by a diminished, high-affinity methanotroph population, rather than an enlarged, low-affinity nitrifier population. This interpretation is consistent with some studies that have used non-physiological approaches [38,48] and therefore have not observed possible shifts in methanotroph enzyme function.…”

Section: Physiological Effects Of Long-term N Fertilizationsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of long-term nitrogen fertilization on the uptake kinetics of atmospheric methane in temperate forest soils

Gulledge¹,

Hrywna²,

Cavanaugh³

et al. 2004

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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To determine whether repeated, long-term NH(4) (+) fertilization alters the enzymatic function of the atmospheric CH(4) oxidizer community in soil, we examined CH(4) uptake kinetics in temperate pine and hardwood forest soils amended with 150 kg N ha(-1) y(-1) as NH(4)NO(3) for more than a decade. The highest rates of atmospheric CH(4) consumption occurred in the upper 5 cm mineral soil of the control plots. In contrast to the results of several previous studies, surface organic soils in the control plots also exhibited high consumption rates. Fertilization decreased in situ CH(4) consumption in the pine and hardwood sites relative to the control plots by 86% and 49%, respectively. Fertilization increased net N mineralization and relative nitrification rates and decreased CH(4) uptake most dramatically in the organic horizon, which contributed substantially to the overall decrease in field flux rates. In all cases, CH(4) oxidation followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with apparent K(m) (K(m(app))) values typical of high-affinity soil CH(4) oxidizers. Both K(m(app)) and V(max(app)) were significantly lower in fertilized soils than in unfertilized soils. The physiology of the methane consumer community in the fertilized soils was distinct from short-term responses to NH(4) (+) addition. Whereas the immediate response to NH(4) (+) was an increase in K(m(app)), resulting from apparent enzymatic substrate competition, the long-term response to fertilization was a community-level shift to a lower K(m(app)), a possible adaptation to diminish the competitiveness of NH(4) (+) for enzyme active sites.

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Section: Physiological Effects Of Long-term N Fertilizationsupporting

confidence: 92%

Effects of long-term nitrogen fertilization on the uptake kinetics of atmospheric methane in temperate forest soils

Gulledge¹,

Hrywna²,

Cavanaugh³

et al. 2004

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

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“…Because the availability of atmospheric CH 4 is largest in the O horizon one would expect maximum consumption in this horizon. However, the maximum consumption is generally located in the top mineral soil (Adamsen & King, 1993;Borken et al, 2003). Methanotrophs with great affinity for atmospheric CH 4 are considered to grow very slowly (Prieme et al, 1996), and thus, methanotrophic populations could survive in the mineral soil as an ecological niche where predators are much less active compared with the O horizon.…”

Section: Effect Of Forest Type Season and O Horizon Removal On Ch 4 mentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes of soils in pure and mixed stands of European beech and Norway spruce

Borken

Beese

2005

European J Soil Science

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Tree species can affect the sink and source strength of soils for atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide. Here we report soil methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes of adjacent pure and mixed stands of beech and spruce at Solling, Germany. Mean CH 4 uptake rates ranged between 18 and 48 mg C m ÿ2 hour ÿ1 during 2.5 years and were about twice as great in both mixed and the pure beech stand as in the pure spruce stand. CH 4 uptake was negatively correlated with the dry mass of the O horizon, suggesting that this diminishes the transport of atmospheric CH 4 into the mineral soil. Mean N 2 O emission was rather small, ranging between 6 and 16 mg N m ÿ2 hour ÿ1 in all stands. Forest type had a significant effect on N 2 O emission only in one mixed stand during the growing season. We removed the O horizon in additional plots to study its effect on gas fluxes over 1.5 years, but N 2 O emissions were not altered by this treatment. Surprisingly, CH 4 uptake decreased in both mixed and the pure beech stands following the removal of the O horizon. The decrease in CH 4 uptake coincided with an increase in the soil moisture content of the mineral soil. Hence, O horizons may maintain the gas diffusivity within the mineral soil by storing water which cannot penetrate into the mineral soil after rainfall. Our results indicate that conversion of beech forests to beech-spruce and pure spruce forests could decrease soil CH 4 uptake, while the long-term effect on N 2 O emissions is expected to be rather small.

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“…The consumption rates of both gases by surface soils beneath forest and orchard decreased with increasing soil depth. A more rapid consumption of CH 4 and C 2 H 4 is likely to be found in forest soil rather than in orchard soil (Table 4), because the implanted orchard has been supplied continuously with N fertilizers for more than 15 years (Steudler et al, 1989;Adamsen & King, 1993;Rigler & Zechmeister-Boltenstern, 1999;Xu & Inubushi, 2004). The C 2 H 4 consumption rates of the orchard soils were more than twice as large as CH 4 consumption at a same initial concentration, whereas in forest soils, the consumption rates of both gaseous hydrocarbons were almost the same (Table 3).…”

Section: Effect Of Oxic and Anoxic Conditions On Ethylene Accumulatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Production and consumption of ethylene in temperate volcanic forest surface soils

Inubushi

2006

European J Soil Science

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To date our knowledge is limited with regard to the cycling of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) in temperate forest soils containing volcanic ash, and the effect of forest-to-orchard conversion on its cycling. We studied ethylene accumulation in such forest soils by oxic and anoxic incubations, along with the stimulatory effect of glucose addition on soil C 2 H 4 accumulation. We also studied the effect of antibiotics and autoclaving on C 2 H 4 production and consumption by volcanic forest soils, and the cycling of C 2 H 4 and CH 4 in surface soils after conversion of a Japanese cedar forest to an orchard. Ethylene production and consumption by forest surface soils results from a microbial process, and soil streptomycin-sensitive bacteria make a minor contribution. Soil C 2 H 4 accumulation was much larger during anoxic than during oxic incubation, which indicates that anoxic conditions can induce C 2 H 4 accumulation in forest soils. Glucose addition as a carbon source can sharply increase C 2 H 4 accumulation rates in the anoxic and oxic forest soils during the first week of incubation. However, there was no difference in total C 2 H 4 accumulation in the amended and non-treated soils after 35 days of anoxic incubation. Ethylene production of the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soils beneath forest and orchard showed the greatest rate after 2 weeks of anoxic incubation when soil CH 4 production started to increase sharply, and later it was strongly suppressed. The forest-to-orchard conversion showed little influence on the CH 4 production of surface soils during short-term anoxic incubation, but significantly reduced soil C 2 H 4 production. The conversion also significantly decreased the consumption of soil CH 4 and C 2 H 4 , the former more than the latter. Soil properties such as total C, water-soluble organic C and pH contribute to the consumption and production of C 2 H 4 in the 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm soils, and there are the parallels between CH 4 and C 2 H 4 consumption in soils, which suggests the presence of similar microorganisms. Long-term anoxic conditions of in situ surface upland soils are normally not prevalent, so it can be reasonably concluded that there is a larger C 2 H 4 accumulation rather than CH 4 accumulation in surface soils beneath forest and orchard after heavy rainfall, especially beneath forest.

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Methane Consumption in Temperate and Subarctic Forest Soils: Rates, Vertical Zonation, and Responses to Water and Nitrogen

Cited by 365 publications

References 30 publications

Effects of long-term nitrogen fertilization on the uptake kinetics of atmospheric methane in temperate forest soils

Effects of long-term nitrogen fertilization on the uptake kinetics of atmospheric methane in temperate forest soils

Methane and nitrous oxide fluxes of soils in pure and mixed stands of European beech and Norway spruce

Production and consumption of ethylene in temperate volcanic forest surface soils

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