Effect of Soil Air Volume Change on CH4 Consumption in Brown Forest Soil

Abstract

The relationship between soil air volume and CH4 consumption in brown forest soils was investigated. The CH4 consumption was negatively affected when the soil air volume decreased in experiments carried out both in situ and in the laboratory. A strong dependence of the CH4 consumption on the soil air volume was found in the laboratory experiment. These results indicate the possibility that the soil air volume is the primary rate-limiting factor for the CH4 consumption in forest soil. Thus our work suggests that the other factors by which CH4 consumption might be affected should be examined under the same air volume condition in the soil. To obtain accurate data, we need to be careful not to change the air volume by trampling or disturbing during the measurement of the natural methane flux in situ.