Abstract
Abstract. Well-drained, aerated soils are important sinks for atmospheric methane (CH4) via the process of CH4 oxidation by methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB). This terrestrial CH4 sink may contribute towards climate change mitigation, but the impact of changing soil moisture and temperature regimes on CH4 uptake is not well understood in all ecosystems. Soils in temperate forest ecosystems are the greatest terrestrial CH4 sink globally. Under predicted climate change scenarios, temperate eucalypt forests in south-eastern Australia are predicted to experience rapid and extreme changes in rainfall patterns, temperatures and wild fires. To investigate the influence of environmental drivers on seasonal and inter-annual variation of soil–atmosphere CH4 exchange, we measured soil–atmosphere CH4 exchange at high-temporal resolution (< 2 h) in a dry temperate eucalypt forest in Victoria (Wombat State Forest, precipitation 870 mm yr−1) and in a wet temperature eucalypt forest in Tasmania (Warra Long-Term Ecological Research site, 1700 mm yr−1). Both forest soil systems were continuous CH4 sinks of −1.79 kg CH4 ha−1 yr−1 in Victoria and −3.83 kg CH4 ha−1 yr−1 in Tasmania. Soil CH4 uptake showed substantial temporal variation and was strongly controlled by soil moisture at both forest sites. Soil CH4 uptake increased when soil moisture decreased and this relationship explained up to 90 % of the temporal variability. Furthermore, the relationship between soil moisture and soil CH4 flux was near-identical at both forest sites when soil moisture was expressed as soil air-filled porosity (AFP). Soil temperature only had a minor influence on soil CH4 uptake. Soil nitrogen concentrations were generally low and fluctuations in nitrogen availability did not influence soil CH4 uptake at either forest site. Our data suggest that soil MOB activity in the two forests was similar and that differences in soil CH4 exchange between the two forests were related to differences in soil moisture and thereby soil gas diffusivity. The differences between forest sites and the variation in soil CH4 exchange over time could be explained by soil AFP as an indicator of soil moisture status.
Highlights
Methane (CH4) has a relatively low atmospheric concentration of approximately 1.8 ppm and is, after carbon dioxide (CO2, approx. 402 ppm), the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2013)
The coefficient of variance (CV) for the average CH4 flux based on chambers in one measurement cycle ranged between 1.8 and 98.0 % with an average of 17.9 ± % (SD) and was higher in periods of rapid changes in soil moisture levels reflecting changes in precipitation (Fig. 2)
Our field data suggest that the difference in magnitude of CH4 flux at both sites was based solely on differences in air-filled porosity (AFP) due to site differences in soil bulk density, soil porosity as a near-identical relationship between AFP and soil CH4 uptake existed at both sites
Summary
Methane (CH4) has a relatively low atmospheric concentration of approximately 1.8 ppm and is, after carbon dioxide (CO2, approx. 402 ppm), the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2013). Methane (CH4) has a relatively low atmospheric concentration of approximately 1.8 ppm and is, after carbon dioxide 402 ppm), the second most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2013). Its atmospheric concentration is 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of CO2, CH4 accounts for approximately 18 % of the currently observed global temperature increase (IPCC, 2013). CH4 contributes to 32 % of the current radiative forcing created by the major greenhouse gases as it has a 25 times greater global warming potential compared to CO2 (IPCC, 2013). Forest soils are the most important land-based sink for CH4 via the activity of methane-oxidising bacteria (MOB) in well-drained, aerobic soils. Soils in temperate forest ecosystems play an important role in global CH4 exchange between the land mass and the atmosphere and they constitute around. Fest et al.: Soil methane oxidation relationship with soil air-filled porosity in two eucalypt forests
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