Abstract
Temperate volcanic forest surface soils under different forest stands (e.g., Pinus sylvestris L., Cryptomeria japonica, and Quercus serrata) were sampled to study the kinetics of ethylene (C2H4) oxidation and the C2H4 concentrations that effectively inhibit oxidation of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrification. The kinetics of C2H4 oxidation in temperate volcanic forest soils was biphasic, indicating that at least two different microbial populations, one with low and another with high apparent K m values, were responsible for ethylene oxidation. Methane consumption activity and ammonium oxidation of soil were inhibited by adding ethylene. Added C2H4 at concentrations of 3, 10, and 20 μl C2H4 per liter in the headspace gas respectively reduced by 20%, 50%, and 100% atmospheric CH4 consumption by soil, and these values were much smaller than those inhibiting ammonium oxidation in these forest soils; thus, the CH4 consumption activity was more sensitive to the addition of C2H4 than ammonium oxidation. Previous studies have shown that accumulation of C2H4 in such volcanic forest soils within 3 days of aerobic and anaerobic incubations can reach a range from 0.2 to 0.3 and from 1.0 to 3.0 μl C2H4 per liter in the headspace gas, respectively. It is suggested that C2H4 production beneath forest floors, particularly after heavy rain, can to some extent affect the capacity of forest surface soils to consume atmospheric CH4, but probably, it has no impact on ammonium oxidation.
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Acknowledgment
This work was funded jointly by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 20777071 and 20477044), by the Hundred Talents Project from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences. The authors thank the editor-in-chief, Prof. Paolo Nannipieri, and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and assistance.
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Xu, X., Inubushi, K. Ethylene oxidation, atmospheric methane consumption, and ammonium oxidation in temperate volcanic forest soils. Biol Fertil Soils 45, 265–271 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-008-0324-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-008-0324-0