Soil water content, carbon, and nitrogen determine the abundances of methanogens, methanotrophs, and methane emission in the Zoige alpine wetland

TY - JOUR

T1 - Soil water content, carbon, and nitrogen determine the abundances of methanogens, methanotrophs, and methane emission in the Zoige alpine wetland

AU - Zhang, Wantong

AU - Kang, Xiaoming

AU - Kang, Enze

AU - Audet, Joachim

AU - Davidson, Thomas A.

AU - Zhang, Xiaodong

AU - Yan, Liang

AU - Li, Yong

AU - Yan, Zhongqing

AU - Zhang, Kerou

AU - Wang, Jinzhi

AU - Hu, Zhengyi

PY - 2022/2

Y1 - 2022/2

N2 - Purpose: Alpine wetland ecosystems can contribute large amounts of methane (CH 4) to the atmosphere; however, their emissions vary with environmental conditions. Microbial activity is known to drive CH 4 emissions, but how environmental conditions determine microbial activity is still uncertain. Here, we seek to quantify the variability of the CH 4 flux, to detect the effects of CH 4-related microbes on CH 4 emissions, and to study the dependency of these effects on environmental conditions. Materials and methods: We measured the CH 4 flux, environmental conditions, and CH 4-related microbial communities (mcrA and pmoA gene abundances for methanogens and methanotrophs, respectively) under three hydrological conditions (submerged, soil–water interface, and emerged) from seven sampling sites in the Zoige alpine wetland, China. Results and discussion: The CH 4 flux varied greatly from 0 to 41 mg m −2 h −1 in the Zoige alpine wetland. The methanogenic and methanotrophic abundances both showed positive correlations with CH 4 flux, while CH 4 flux increased linearly with the increase of soil water content (SWC) when SWC was above 60%. CH 4 flux and methanogenic and methanotrophic abundances maintained the high levels when soil C:N ratio was in the range of 11–24 and decreased exponentially with the increase of soil DOC:TN ratio in Zoige alpine wetland, which might result from its influence on nutrient supply for microbial decomposition process. Conclusion: The results provided new insight into the effects of CH 4-related microbes on CH 4 emission and its response to different environmental conditions and helped us to comprehend the risks of high CH 4 emissions from alpine wetlands under climatic change and anthropogenic disturbance.

AB - Purpose: Alpine wetland ecosystems can contribute large amounts of methane (CH 4) to the atmosphere; however, their emissions vary with environmental conditions. Microbial activity is known to drive CH 4 emissions, but how environmental conditions determine microbial activity is still uncertain. Here, we seek to quantify the variability of the CH 4 flux, to detect the effects of CH 4-related microbes on CH 4 emissions, and to study the dependency of these effects on environmental conditions. Materials and methods: We measured the CH 4 flux, environmental conditions, and CH 4-related microbial communities (mcrA and pmoA gene abundances for methanogens and methanotrophs, respectively) under three hydrological conditions (submerged, soil–water interface, and emerged) from seven sampling sites in the Zoige alpine wetland, China. Results and discussion: The CH 4 flux varied greatly from 0 to 41 mg m −2 h −1 in the Zoige alpine wetland. The methanogenic and methanotrophic abundances both showed positive correlations with CH 4 flux, while CH 4 flux increased linearly with the increase of soil water content (SWC) when SWC was above 60%. CH 4 flux and methanogenic and methanotrophic abundances maintained the high levels when soil C:N ratio was in the range of 11–24 and decreased exponentially with the increase of soil DOC:TN ratio in Zoige alpine wetland, which might result from its influence on nutrient supply for microbial decomposition process. Conclusion: The results provided new insight into the effects of CH 4-related microbes on CH 4 emission and its response to different environmental conditions and helped us to comprehend the risks of high CH 4 emissions from alpine wetlands under climatic change and anthropogenic disturbance.

KW - C:N ratio

KW - Methane

KW - Methanogenic and methanotrophic abundance

KW - Soil water content

KW - Zoige alpine wetland

KW - GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS

KW - C

KW - DEPOSITION

KW - ORGANIC-MATTER

KW - RESTORATION

KW - N ratio

KW - CH4

KW - TABLE

KW - TEMPERATURE

KW - MOISTURE GRADIENT

KW - DEGRADATION

KW - FLUXES

U2 - 10.1007/s11368-021-03043-5

DO - 10.1007/s11368-021-03043-5

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1614-7480

VL - 22

SP - 470

EP - 481

JO - Journal of Soils and Sediments

JF - Journal of Soils and Sediments

IS - 2

ER -