Community In Paddy Soil Research Articles

Metaproteome of the microbial community in paddy soil after long-term treatment with mineral and organic fertilizers

The soil microbial community research conducted in the field has focused on the genetic diversity of these organisms. In this study, we assessed the proteins expressed in soil microbial communities following the long-term application of mineral fertilizer (NPK) and organic manure (M) to paddy soil, indirect extraction method and separated via two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis and identified using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) approach. We found that the number of cells in the primary soil in the M treatment was significantly greater than in the NPK and CK treatments. The numbers of cells extracted were consistent with the total cell numbers and the concentration of extracted proteins (CK < NPK < M). 303 and 306 protein spots being detected in the CK map and NPK map, respectively. Eleven spots of interest were identified in the 2D gels, including 8 different protein spots and 3 unique protein spots. Three common proteins involved in protein hydrolysis and glutamate synthesis and metabolism. Eight differentially expressed proteins involved in DNA replication, transcription, protein folding and energy metabolism, the processes of cofactor and vitamin metabolism, transcriptional regulation, recombination and xenobiotic compound biodegradation and metabolism. The long-term application of fertilization resulted in significant changes in the microbial community structure and function, and the long-term application of pig manure significantly increased the microbial biomass and the functional and structural diversity in the soil. It is very interesting to address the MS identification of intracellular proteins from microbial communities under different fertilizer treatments in a paddy soil.

Long-term nitrogen fertilization of paddy soil shifts iron-reducing microbial community revealed by RNA-(13)C-acetate probing coupled with pyrosequencing.

Iron reduction is an important biogeochemical process in paddy soils, yet little is known about the microbial coupling between nitrogen and iron reduction. Here, we investigated the shift of acetate-metabolizing iron-reducers under long-term nitrogen fertilization using 13C-acetate-based ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-stable isotope probing (SIP) and pyrosequencing in an incubation experiment, and the shift of putative iron-reducers in original field samples were investigated by 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing. During SIP incubations, in the presence of iron(III) oxyhydroxides, more iron(II) formation and less methane production were detected in nitrogen-fertilized (N) compared with non-fertilized (NF) soil. In 13C-rRNA from microcosms amended with ferrihydrite (FER), Geobacter spp. were the important active iron-reducers in both soils, and labeled to a greater extent in N (31% of the bacterial classified sequences) than NF soils (11%). Pyrosequencing of the total 16S rRNA transcripts from microcosms at the whole community level further revealed hitherto unknown metabolisms of potential FER reduction by microorganisms including Pseudomonas and Solibacillus spp. in N soil, Dechloromonas, Clostridium, Bacillus and Solibacillus spp. in NF soil. Goethite (GOE) amendment stimulated Geobacter spp. to a lesser extent in both soils compared with FER treatment. Pseudomonas spp. in the N soil and Clostridium spp. in the NF soil may also be involved in GOE reduction. Pyrosequencing results from field samples showed that Geobacter spp. were the most abundant putative iron-reducers in both soils, and significantly stimulated by long-term nitrogen fertilization. Overall, for the first time, we demonstrate that long-term nitrogen fertilization promotes iron(III) reduction and modulates iron-reducing bacterial community in paddy soils.

Diversity of Microbial Community in a Paddy Soil with cry1Ac/cpti Transgenic Rice

Two types of cry1Ac/cpti transgenic rice (GM1 and GM2) and their parental non-cry1Ac/cpti rice (CK1 and CK2) were planted in the field at Wufeng, Fujian Province, China for four years to investigate the influence of genetically modified rice on diversity of bacterial and fungal community in the paddy soil. The community composition and abundance of bacteria or fungi in the paddy soil were assessed at different growth stages of rice by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and real-time polymerase chain reaction based on 16S rRNA gene or SSU rRNA gene in the 4th year after the experimental establishment. The composition of bacterial or fungal community changed during rice growth, while no significant differences were observed between the fields cultivated with GM1 and CK1, or between the fields cultivated with GM2 and CK2 in either bacterial or fungal community composition. The copy numbers of bacterial 16S rRNA gene in the soils with CK1, CK2, GM1 and GM2 ranged from 5.64 × 1011 to 6.89 × 1011 copies g−1 dry soil at rice growth stages, and those of fungal SSU rRNA gene from 5.24 × 108 to 8.68 × 108 copies g−1 dry soil. There were no marked differences in the copies of bacterial 16S rRNA gene or fungal SSU rRNA gene between CK1 and GM1 or between CK2 and GM2 at any growth stage of rice. Planting cry1Ac/cpti transgenic rice had no significant effect on composition and abundance of bacterial and fungal community in paddy soil during the rice growing season at least in the short term.

Influence of Heavy Metals and PCBs Pollution on the Enzyme Activity and Microbial Community of Paddy Soils around an E-Waste Recycling Workshop

Due to the emerging environmental issues related to e-waste there is concern about the quality of paddy soils near e-waste workshops. The levels of heavy metals and PCBs and their influence on the enzyme activity and microbial community of paddy soils obtained from the immediate vicinity of an e-waste workshop were investigated in the present study. The results indicated that the heavy metal and PCB pollution did not differ significantly with an increase of the sampling point distances (5 to 30 m). The concentration of Cd (2.16 mg·kg−1) and Cu (69.2 mg·kg−1) were higher, and the PCB pollution was also serious, ranging from 4.9 to 21.6 μg·kg−1. The highest enzyme activity was found for urease compared to phosphatase and catalase, and a fluctuating trend in soil enzyme activity was observed in soils from different sampling sites. The microbial analysis revealed that there was no apparent correlation between the microbial community and the pollutants. However, a slight influence for soil microbial communities could be found based on DGGE, the Shannon index and PCA analysis. The present study suggests that the contamination stress of heavy metals and PCBs might have a slight influence on microbial activity in paddy soils. This study provides the baseline data for enzyme activities and microbial communities in paddy soil under the influence of mixed contamination.

Conversion of upland to paddy field specifically alters the community structure of archaeal ammonia oxidizers in an acid soil

Abstract. The function of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) depends on the major energy-generating compounds (i.e., ammonia and oxygen). The diversification of AOA and AOB communities along ecological gradients of substrate availability in a complex environment have been much debated but rarely tested. In this study, two ecosystems of maize and rice crops under different fertilization regimes were selected to investigate the community diversification of soil AOA and AOB upon conversion of an upland field to a paddy field and long-term field fertilization in an acid soil. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes demonstrated that the abundance of AOA was significantly stimulated after conversion of upland to paddy soils for more than 100 yr, whereas a slight decline in AOB numbers was observed. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprints of amoA genes further revealed remarkable changes in the community compositions of AOA after conversion of aerobic upland to flooded paddy field. Sequencing analysis revealed that upland soil was dominated by AOA within the soil group 1.1b lineage, whereas the marine group 1.1a-associated lineage predominated in AOA communities in paddy soils. Irrespective of whether the soil was upland or paddy soil, long-term field fertilization led to increased abundance of amoA genes in AOA and AOB compared with control treatments (no fertilization), whereas archaeal amoA gene abundances outnumbered their bacterial counterparts in all samples. Phylogenetic analyses of amoA genes showed that Nitrosospira cluster-3-like AOB dominated bacterial ammonia oxidizers in both paddy and upland soils, regardless of fertilization treatment. The results of this study suggest that the marine group 1.1a-associated AOA will be better adapted to the flooded paddy field than AOA ecotypes of the soil group 1.1b lineage, and indicate that long-term flooding is the dominant selective force driving the community diversification of AOA populations in the acid soil tested.

Extracellular Quinones Affecting Methane Production and Methanogenic Community in Paddy Soil

This study investigated the change of CH4 production and methanogenic community in response to the presence of humic substances (humics) analogue, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS). Anaerobic experiments used a Chinese paddy soil, and three concentration levels of 0.5, 5, and 20mM AQDS were conducted. Results suggested that the effect of AQDS on methanogenesis was time-dependent and concentration-dependent. Twenty millimolars of AQDS was toxic for methanogenic activity almost for the entire experimental period. Slight inhibition of methanogenesis by AQDS respiration in the 0.5- and 5-mM AQDS-supplemented treatments occurred within the early period, while CH4 accumulated throughout the later period was approximately five and ten times greater than that of the controls without AQDS, respectively. AQDS reduction coupling to acetate oxidization enriched Geobacter species, and the mcrA-targeted T-RFLP profiles revealed significant increase of Methanosarcina at the expense of Methanobacterium in the 0.5- and 5-mM AQDS treatments. The enriched syntrophic association between Geobacter and Methanosarcina was deduced to be an effective methanogenic pathway for converting acetate to CH4 via direct interspecies electron transfer. This study implied the ecological importance of syntrophic interaction between methanogens and microorganisms enriched by anaerobic respiration of non-methanogenic terminal electron acceptors in paddy soils.

Macroecology of methane-oxidizing bacteria: the β-diversity of pmoA genotypes in tropical and subtropical rice paddies.

Studies addressing microbial biogeography haveincreased during the past decade, but research onmicrobial distribution patterns is still in its infancies,and many aspects are only poorly understood. Here,we compared the methanotroph community in paddysoils sampled in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Italy,focusing on the distance–decay relationship.We usedthe pmoA gene as marker for methanotroph diversityin terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism,microarray and pyrosequencing approaches. Wecould observe a significant increase of β-diversity with geographical distance across continents (12 000 km).Measured environmental parameters explained only asmall amount of data variation, and we found no evidencefor dispersal limitation. Thus, we propose historicalcontingencies being responsible for theobserved patterns. Furthermore, we performed anin-depth analysis of type II methanotroph pmoA distributionat the sequence level. We used ordinationanalysis to project sequence dissimilarities into athree-dimensional space (multidimensional scaling).The ordination suggests that type II methanotrophs inpaddy fields can be divided into five major groups.However, these groups were found to be distributed inall soils independent of the geographic origin. Byincluding tropical field sites (Indonesia and Vietnam)into the analysis, we further observed the firstpaddy fields harbouring a methanotroph communitydepleted in type II methanotrophs.

Biodegradation of bensulfuron-methyl and its effect on bacterial community in paddy soils

Bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) is a new kind of sulfonylurea herbicide widely used to control broad-leaf weeds in rice paddies. The aim of this work was to study BSM biodegradation in paddy soils with BSM-degrading bacteria Bacillus megaterium L1 and Brevibacterium sp. BH and its effect on the structures of soil bacterial community. More than 90 % of BSM could be degraded in paddy soils with 0.0355 mg kg⁻¹ BSM concentration. Addition of BSM-degrading bacterial strains Bacillus megaterium L1 into BSM contaminated paddy soil could have the half-life time of BSM compared to treatment without Bacillus megaterium L1 inoculation. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and principle component analysis indicated that the diversity of the soil microbial community structure changed along with the addition of BSM, which recovered at the end of the experiment (5 weeks). Addition of BSM-degrading bacteria Bacillus megaterium L1 enriched the diversity of soil microbial community structure in paddy soils. This study provides information on the biodegradation of BSM and BSM's influences on the soil bacteria microbial community structures.

Influence of fertilisation regimes on a nosZ‐containing denitrifying community in a rice paddy soil

Denitrification is a microbial process that has received considerable attention during the past decade since it can result in losses of added nitrogen fertilisers from agricultural soils. Paddy soil has been known to have strong denitrifying activity, but the denitrifying microorganisms responsible for fertilisers in paddy soil are not well known. The objective of this study was to explore the impacts of 17-year application of inorganic and organic fertiliser (rice straw) on the abundance and composition of a nosZ-denitrifier community in paddy soil. Soil samples were collected from CK plots (no fertiliser), N (nitrogen fertiliser), NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisers) and NPK + OM (NPK plus organic matter). The nitrous oxide reductase gene (nosZ) community composition was analysed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and the abundance was determined by quantitative PCR. Both the largest abundance of nosZ-denitrifier and the highest potential denitrifying activity (PDA) occurred in the NPK + OM treatment with about four times higher than that in the CK and two times higher than that in the N and NPK treatments (no significant difference). Denitrifying community composition differed significantly among fertilisation treatments except for the comparison between CK and N treatments. Of the measured abiotic factors, total organic carbon was significantly correlated with the observed differences in community composition and abundance (P < 0.01 by Monte Carlo permutation). This study shows that the addition of different fertilisers affects the size and composition of the nosZ-denitrifier community in paddy soil.

Effect of long-term fertilization on bacterial composition in rice paddy soil

We investigated the effect of long-term fertilization on bacterial abundance, composition, and diversity in paddy soil. The experiment started in 1990 in Taoyuan Agro-ecosystem Research Station in China (111°33′ E, 28°55′ N). The molecular approaches including real-time quantitative PCR, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism, and clone library construction were employed using 16S rRNA gene as genetic marker. Application of inorganic fertilizers did not affect bacterial abundance, and rice straw incorporation combined with inorganic fertilizers significantly (P < 0.05) increased bacterial abundance with shifts in bacterial community composition. Among phylogenetic groups, γ-Proteobacteria was responsive to all fertilization regimes while Acidobacteria was relatively stable to fertilization practices. Inorganic fertilizer mainly affected γ-Proteobacteria and δ-Proteobacteria, while rice straw incorporation influenced β-Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Therefore, long-term fertilization can affect abundance and composition of bacterial communities in paddy soil.

Diversity of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in paddy soil and their response to elevated atmospheric CO₂.

SummaryAerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (AAnPB) are recognized as an important group driving the global carbon cycling. However, the diversity of AAnPB in terrestrial environment remains largely unknown as well as their responses to the elevated atmospheric CO2. By using culture‐independent techniques, the diversity of AAnPB in paddy soil and the changes in response to the rising atmospheric CO2 were investigated within China FACE (Free‐air CO2 enrichment) platform. There was a phylogenetically diverse AAnPB community with large population size residing in paddy soil. The community structure of AAnPB in bulk and rhizospheric soils stayed almost identical, while the population size was higher in rhizospheric [2.0–2.5 × 108 copy number of pufM genes g−1 dry weight soil (d.w.s.)] than that in bulk (0.7–0.8 × 108 g−1 d.w.s.) soils. Elevated atmospheric CO2 appeared to significantly stimulate AAnPB abundance (up to 1.4–1.5 × 108 g−1 d.w.s.) and result in a higher AAnPB percentage in total bacterial community (from 0.5% up to 1.5%) in bulk soil, whereas no significant effect was observed in rhizospheric soil. Our results would extend the functional ecotypes of AAnPB and indicate that environmental changes associated with the rising atmospheric CO2 might affect AAnPB community in paddy soil.

Composition of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea communities in paddy soils of different rice cultivars

Community structures of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea in paddy soils of different rice cultivars were investigated by PCR denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis for soil DNA production. The results show that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea in paddy soils are rich, with more sorts in ammonia-oxidizing archaea than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. The effect of rice cultivars on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria is strong. The community structures of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria are similar among the "TianA/Km71", "Minyou1027" and "Km62/1027" rice cultivars, but different among the other three rice cultivars. Soil site effect on ammonia-oxidizing archaea is very obvious, with the highest differences in ammonia-oxidizing archaea community structures between bulk and rhizosphere soils of "TianA/Km71" and "Km62/1027" rice cultivars. The results demonstrate that different rice cultivars and soil site influence the community structures of ammonia-oxidizing microbial and ammomia-oxidizer, which, especially ammonia-oxidizing archaea, are important for the paddy soil ecosystems.

Phylogenetic diversity of dissimilatory ferric iron reducers in paddy soil of Hunan, South China

Purpose Dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria have been described by both culture-dependent and -independent methods in various environments, including freshwater, marine sediments, natural wetlands, and contaminated aquifers. However, little is known about iron-reducing microbial communities in paddy soils. The goal of this study was to characterize iron-reducing microbial communities in paddy soil. Moreover, the effect of dissolved and solid-phase iron (III) species on the iron-reducing microbial communities was also investigated by enrichment cultures.

Comparisons of different hypervariable regions of rrs genes for fingerprinting of microbial communities in paddy soils

The use of molecular approaches based on 16S rDNA-PCR in microbial ecology has revealed a tremendous prokaryotic diversity in environmental samples. However, there is little or no systematic evaluation of the impacts of hypervariable (V) regions of rrs genes choice on microbial community analysis in soil samples, especially the detailed information about the dominant groups preferentially amplified by different primer pairs. In the present study, eight primer pairs were detected to compare the different V regions for fingerprinting microbial communities in a paddy soil irrigated with petroleum-wastewater, using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) techniques. Results reveal the obvious PCR bias produced by different V regions. Both ARDRA analysis of 16S rDNA clone library and DGGE suggest that V 1–V 3 region amplified with primer pair 8f–519r produced the most informative fingerprinting profiles. Additionally, V 3–V 5 region amplified with 341f–907r was another preferable choice for microbial diversity in petroleum-contaminated soil. The V 4–V 5 region and single V region (V 1, V 3, and V 8) were not recommended for the future study of microbial diversity in soil samples. Phylogenetic analysis of 123 sequences from libraries constructed by amplicons generated from six different V regions suggests that different dominant groups were amplified with distinct primer sets. In detail, V 1–V 3 library (amplified with 8f–519r) and V 3–V 5 library were dominated by Actinobacteria (20.4%) (particularly in genus Arthrobacter), V 1–V 3 library (amplified with 63f–518r) was dominated by γ-Proteobacteria (25.0%) and α-Proteobacteria (22.0%) (particularly in genus Brevundimonas), V 3 library was dominated by β-Proteobacteria (22.3%) (particularly in genus Gallionella) and α-Proteobacteria (20.0%), V 6–V 8 library was dominated by Chlamydiae (20.4%) and β-Proteobacteria (20.4%), V 8 library was dominated by γ-Proteobacteria (27.2%) (particularly in genus Acinetobacter) and β-Proteobacteria (14.0%). The present work strongly recommends that primer pairs should be chosen cautiously in community diversity analysis based on PCR amplification of 16S rDNA, and involving at least two different 16S rDNA universal primer pairs would perform better.

P6-5 Comparison of T4-type bacteriophage communities in paddy soils between Japan and Northeast China as estimated from major capsid gene (g23) sequences

P6-5 Comparison of T4-type bacteriophage communities in paddy soils between Japan and Northeast China as estimated from major capsid gene (g23) sequences

Phospholipid fatty acid patterns of microbial communities in paddy soil under different fertilizer treatments

The microbial communities under irrigated rice cropping with different fertilizer treatments, including control (CK), PK, NK, NP, NPK fertilization, were investigated using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile method. The results of this study revealed that the fertilizer practice had an impact on the community structure of specific microbial groups. The principal components analysis (PCA) showed that proportion of the actinomycete PLFAs (10Me 18:0 and 10Me 16:0) were the lowest in the PK treatment and the highest in the NPK treatment, which means that soil nitrogen status affected the diversity of actinomycetes, whereas nitrogen cycling was related to the actinomycets. Under CK treatment, the ratio of Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria was lower compared with that in fertilizer addition treatments, indicating that fertilizer application stimulated Gram-positive bacterial population in paddy soil. The fatty acid 18:2ω6,9, which is considered to be predominantly of fungal origin, was at low level in all the treatments. The ratio of cy 19:0 to 18:1ω7, which has been proposed as an indicator of stress conditions, decreased in PK treatment. Changes of soil microbial community under different fertilizer treatments of paddy soil were detected in this study; however, the causes that lead to changes in the microbial community still needs further study.

Evaluation of Pesticide Effects on Microbial Communities in a Paddy Soil Comparing with That Caused by Soil Flooding

The Effect of a herbicide Zark D51 (ZD, 4.5% daimuron and 0.51% bensulfuron methyl) powder and a fungicide Fuji-One Moncut (MC, 12.0% isoprothiolane and 7.0% flutolanil) powder on microbial communities in a paddy soil was examined in laboratory experiments using Biolog GN plates. ZD had little effect on the soil microbial communities at the recommended and 50 times the recommended rate. MC showed no significant effect at the recommended rate, however, the 50-fold application caused changes in the microbial communities for at least four weeks although the activity to utilize carbon as substrate determined by color development in the Biolog plate had recovered by that time. For assessing the significance of the change in microbial communities, the magnitude of the change caused by MC was compared with that caused by soil flooding which had been shown to be the most influential environmental parameter acting on the microbial communities in paddy soils. At one week after the application of 10 times the recommended dose of MC, the microbial communities could be differentiated by the soil flooding, but not the application of MC. On the other hand, at four weeks after the application, the microbial communities could be distinctly separated by the MC application beyond the magnitude caused by the flooding. A reasonable approach is proposed for assessing the effects of pesticide on soil microbial communities.

Wetland rice soils as sources and sinks of methane: a review and prospects for research

Rice paddies are an important human-made ecosystem for the global CH4 budget. CH4, which is produced in the predominantly anaerobic bulk soil layers, is oxidized significantly before it reaches the atmosphere. Roots of rice, in addition to supporting the consumption of CH4, contribute to the total CH4 production in the soil. The various controls of CH4 emission from this ecosystem depend on the structure of plant and microbial communities and their interactions. Availability of organic substrates, electron acceptors and other soil- and plant-related factors influence the activities of microbial communities. Agronomic practices including fertilization and application of pesticides have effects on CH4 emission. Recent studies using molecular retrieval approaches with small subunit rRNA-encoding gene (rDNA) sequences and functional genes, showed the richness of diversity of the microbial community in rice paddy soils, which includes members of the Archaea and methanotrophs. There is need for further research to know the consequences, at the ecosystem level, of changes in microbial diversity and microbial communities in paddy soils. This will aid in understanding the mechanisms involved in the mitigating effects of certain agricultural practices.

Temperature limitation of hydrogen turnover and methanogenesis in anoxic paddy soil

The shift of incubation temperature in anoxic paddy soil from 30°C to 15°C resulted in a reversible decrease of the methane production rate and of the H2 steady state partial pressure. Only at 30°C but not at 17°C, total CH4 production rates were enhanced by the addition of H2, acetate, or cellulose compared to the control. Apparent activation energies which were calculated from the temperature dependence of CH4 production were higher in presence than in absence of excess H2. Decrease of temperature caused a decrease of the H2 turnover rate constant and of the Gibbs free energy of H2-dependent methanogenesis, and also resulted in a smaller contribution of H2 to total methanogenesis. However, H2-dependent methanogenesis was significantly stimulated by excess H2 and slightly inhibited by acetate at low as well as high temperature. The results show that H2-producing bacteria were limited by temperature to a greater extent than the methanogens so that the methanogenic microbial community in paddy soil was limited by the supply of H2. At low as well as high temperatures, excess H2 apparently enabled part of the methanogenic community to shift from acetate-dependent to H2-dependent CH4 production. At low temperature, excess H2 had only this effect, but with increasing temperature, excess H2 additionally stimulated total methanogenic activity and eventually even growth.

Temperature limitation of hydrogen turnover and methanogenesis in anoxic paddy soil

The shift of incubation temperature in anoxic paddy soil from 30°C to 15°C resulted in a reversible decrease of the methane production rate and of the H2 steady state partial pressure. Only at 30°C but not at 17°C, total CH4 production rates were enhanced by the addition of H2, acetate, or cellulose compared to the control. Apparent activation energies which were calculated from the temperature dependence of CH4 production were higher in presence than in absence of excess H2. Decrease of temperature caused a decrease of the H2 turnover rate constant and of the Gibbs free energy of H2-dependent methanogenesis, and also resulted in a smaller contribution of H2 to total methanogenesis. However, H2-dependent methanogenesis was significantly stimulated by excess H2 and slightly inhibited by acetate at low as well as high temperature. The results show that H2-producing bacteria were limited by temperature to a greater extent than the methanogens so that the methanogenic microbial community in paddy soil was limited by the supply of H2. At low as well as high temperatures, excess H2 apparently enabled part of the methanogenic community to shift from acetate-dependent to H2-dependent CH4 production. At low temperature, excess H2 had only this effect, but with increasing temperature, excess H2 additionally stimulated total methanogenic activity and eventually even growth.