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Can abundance of methanogen be a good indicator for CH4 flux in soil ecosystems?

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Abstract

Methane, which is produced by methanogenic archaea, is the second most abundant carbon compound in the atmosphere. Due to its strong radiative forcing, many studies have been conducted to determine its sources, budget, and dynamics. However, a mechanistic model of methane flux has not been developed thus far. In this study, we attempt to examine the relevance of the abundance of methanogen as a biological indicator of methane flux in three different types of soil ecosystems: permafrost, rice paddy, and mountainous wetland. We measured the annual average methane flux and abundance of methanogen in the soil ecosystems in situ. The correlation between methane flux and the abundance of methanogen exists only under a specific biogeochemical conditions such as SOM of higher than 60 %, pH of 5.6–6.4, and water-saturated. Except for these conditions, significant correlations were absent. Therefore, microbial abundance information can be applied to a methane flux model selectively depending on the biogeochemical properties of the soil ecosystem.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by funds from the National Research Foundations of Korea (2014036440 and 2014050532) and the Rural Development Administration of Korea (PJ009253022014).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749, Korea

    Jinhyun Kim, Seung-Hoon Lee, Sangseom Jeong & Hojeong Kang

  2. National Institute of Ecology, Geumgang-ro, Maseo-Myeon, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, 325-318, Korea

    Inyoung Jang

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  1. Jinhyun Kim
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  2. Seung-Hoon Lee
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  4. Sangseom Jeong
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Correspondence to Hojeong Kang.

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Kim, J., Lee, SH., Jang, I. et al. Can abundance of methanogen be a good indicator for CH4 flux in soil ecosystems?. Environ Geochem Health 37, 1007–1015 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9729-5

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