Higher Mean Annual Temperature Research Articles

Cross-biome patterns in soil microbial respiration predictable from evolutionary theory on thermal adaptation.

Climate warming may stimulate microbial metabolism of soil carbon, causing a carbon-cycle-climate feedback whereby carbon is redistributed from the soil to atmospheric CO2. The magnitude of this feedback is uncertain, in part because warming-induced shifts in microbial physiology and/or community composition could retard or accelerate soil carbon losses. Here, we measure microbial respiration rates for soils collected from 22 sites in each of 3 years, at locations spanning boreal to tropical climates. Respiration was measured in the laboratory with standard temperatures, moisture and excess carbon substrate, to allow physiological and community effects to be detected independent of the influence of these abiotic controls. Patterns in respiration for soils collected across the climate gradient are consistent with evolutionary theory on physiological responses that compensate for positive effects of temperature on metabolism. Respiration rates per unit microbial biomass were as much as 2.6 times higher for soils sampled from sites with a mean annual temperature of -2.0 versus 21.7 °C. Subsequent 100-d incubations suggested differences in the plasticity of the thermal response among microbial communities, with communities sampled from sites with higher mean annual temperature having a more plastic response. Our findings are consistent with adaptive metabolic responses to contrasting thermal regimes that are also observed in plants and animals. These results may help build confidence in soil-carbon-climate feedback projections by improving understanding of microbial processes represented in biogeochemical models.

Soil microbial respiration adapts to ambient temperature in global drylands.

Heterotrophic soil microbial respiration – one of the main processes of carbon loss from soils to the atmosphere – is sensitive to temperature in the short-term. However, how this sensitivity is affected by long-term thermal regimes is uncertain. There is an expectation that soil microbial respiration rates adapt to the ambient thermal regime, but whether this adaptation magnifies or reduces respiration sensitivities to temperature fluctuations remains unresolved. This gap in our understanding is particularly pronounced for drylands as most studies conducted so far have focused on mesic systems. Here, we conducted an incubation study using soils from 110 global drylands encompassing a wide gradient in mean annual temperature. We tested how mean annual temperature affects soil respiration rates at three assay temperatures while controlling for substrate depletion and microbial biomass. Estimated soil respiration rates at the mean microbial biomass were lower in sites with higher mean annual temperatures across the three assayed temperatures. The patterns observed are consistent with expected evolutionary trade-offs in the structure and function of enzymes under different thermal regimes. Our results therefore suggest that soil microbial respiration adapts to the ambient thermal regime in global drylands.

Spatial analysis of lumpy skin disease in Eurasia-Predicting areas at risk for further spread within the region.

Data from affected lumpy skin disease (LSD) locations between July 2012 and September 2018 in the Balkans, Caucasus, and Middle East were retrieved from FAO's Global Animal Disease Information System (EMPRES-i) from the European Commission's Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS) and completed with data from the official veterinary services of some countries. During this period, a total of 7,593 locations from 22 countries were affected. Within this period, over 46,000 cattle were clinically affected by LSD, 3,700 animals died and 17,500 were slaughtered due to culling policies to stop the spread of the disease. Most outbreaks occurred in 2016, between the months of May and November. The affected region was divided into a grid of 10×10km cells and we fit a spatial regression model to analyse the association between the reported LSD outbreaks and climatic variables, land cover, and cattle density. The results showed big differences in the odds of being LSD positive due to the type of land cover: the odds of a cell being LSD positive was increased in areas mostly covered with croplands, grassland, or shrubland. The odds was also increased for higher cattle density, as well as areas with higher annual mean temperature and higher temperature diurnal range. The resulting model was utilized to predict the LSD risk in neighbouring unaffected areas in Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, identifying several areas with high risk of spread. Results from this study provide useful information for the design of surveillance and awareness systems, and preventive measures, e.g., vaccination programmes.

Climate-sensitive self-thinning trajectories of Chinese fir plantations in south China

The self-thinning rule is fundamental in regulating maximum stocking and constructing stand density management diagrams. Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.) is the most important tree species and widely distributed across subtropical China. Yet, our understanding of how the self-thinning line of Chinese fir relates to climate is limited. Longitudinal data from 48 plots distributed in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces were used to describe self-thinning for Chinese fir in relation to climate through first-order autoregressive (AR(1)) and nonlinear mixed effects (NLME) models. Results showed that self-thinning lines had steeper slopes for Chinese fir growing in areas with larger annual precipitation and summer mean maximum temperature but flatter slopes with higher mean annual temperature, degree-days below 0 °C, and winter mean minimum temperature. Winter mean minimum temperature was the dominant climatic factor in shaping self-thinning lines, which suggests that temperature was the key climate driver that affects self-thinning of Chinese fir. In addition, differences of slopes for any two of the four sites were significant, except between the Guangxi and Sichuan sites. Our results will be useful for both the silvicultural practices and mitigation strategies of Chinese fir under climate change in south China.

Modeling climatic and hydrological suitability for an encroaching tree species in a Neotropical flooded savanna

Woody encroachment converts savanna systems to forests, altering the composition and productivity of native forage species and the supply of several ecosystem services. In this study, correlative species distribution models were applied to predict the chances of proliferation of a flood-tolerant encroaching tree (Vochysia divergens, Vochysiaceae) over the large Pantanal savanna floodplain and to provide a management tool with the aim of defining strategies for invasion control and containment over natural pastures. BIOCLIM and DOMAIN, two correlative models based on presence data, were used, accurately defining areas with a higher risk of invasion based on abiotic limits for the species distribution. The results of the models indicate that areas with high precipitation in the warmest period of the year and high annual mean temperature increase the chances of occurrence of this species, thus increasing the risk of invasion. Maintaining the integrity of natural pastures in climatic zones that are favorable to invasion requires management strategies such as low livestock density and maintenance of the hydrological regime, which prevent the degradation of natural pastures. Therefore, the management of encroaching trees must consider the socioeconomic and ecological benefits of removing populations of such trees, while seeking a balance in the conservation of ecosystem services and human livelihoods.

The partitioning patterns of nutrients between pods and seeds of Zanthoxylum fruits impacted by environmental factors

The nutritive quality in plant organs is related to the different partitioning patterns of nutrient resources among the organs under various environmental conditions. This study examined the relationship between the nutritive quality of pods and seeds in Zanthoxylum and environmental factors, such as temperature and preciptation by using numerous samples collected from Southwest China to the East China of Shandong peninsula. The increasing accumulations of N, P and C in seeds implied that the nutritive quality in seeds was higher at the regions with relative higher mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP), while that in pods was on the contrary. By contrast, pod nutritive content was relatively high, but seed nutritive content was relatively low at the regions with relative high MAT and MAP. In addition, C:N ratio in pods was significantly and negatively correlated with MAT and MAP, while that in seed was significantly and positively correlated with MAT and MAP. The partitioning patterns of N-compounds between pods and seeds reflected different nitrogen translocations in the plant organs under various climate condition. The N:P ratios were negatively correlated with MAP, implying a higher proportional allocation of P to seeds than that of N in the areas with a relative high MAP. Therefore, the strategies to assess pod nutritional quality should be taken into account for nutritive translocation under various environmental conditions.

Assessment of trends and variability in surface air temperature on multiple high-resolution datasets over the Indochina Peninsula

The climatological means and surface air temperature (SAT) trends of the Indochina Peninsula (ICP) are being analyzed on a yearly and seasonal basis using a newly published observation dataset (SA-OBS). The SAT for the period 1981 to 2010 shows a north-south gradient over the ICP, with the highest mean annual temperature in the central plain and the lowest in the northern mountain region. In addition, over the past 30 years, the ICP has been undergoing a significant warming trend of 0.37 °C/decade. The seasonal mean SAT fluctuations are significant in the dry seasons compared to the wet seasons, with a rapid increase in JFM (January to March) and OND (October to December). Further, comparisons are made using SA-OBS and the other observation (CRU, GHCN_CAMS, DEL) or reanalysis (ERA-20C, CERA-20C, ERA-Interim, JRA-55) datasets. The result shows (i) that the SA-OBS dataset can capture the spatial distributions and temporal patterns reasonably well throughout the ICP on annual and seasonal scales. (ii) CERA-20C is very similar to SA-OBS in replicating the annual mean SAT over the ICP, suggesting that the ECMWF’s coupled data assimilation system (CERA) could obviously improve the temperature estimates in that region. (iii) That significant differences, however, still exist between observations and reanalyses in annual and seasonal trends. These discrepancies need to be taken into account to study climate change and variability or to assess regional climate models with focus on the ICP.

Incidence of Facultative Bacterial Endosymbionts in Spider Mites Associated with Local Environments and Host Plants.

Spider mites are frequently associated with multiple endosymbionts whose infection patterns often exhibit spatial and temporal variation. However, the association between endosymbiont prevalence and environmental factors remains unclear. Here, we surveyed endosymbionts in natural populations of the spider mite, Tetranychus truncatus, in China, screening 935 spider mites from 21 localities and 12 host plant species. Three facultative endosymbiont lineages, Wolbachia, Cardinium, and Spiroplasma, were detected at different infection frequencies (52.5%, 26.3%, and 8.6%, respectively). Multiple endosymbiont infections were observed in most local populations, and the incidence of individuals with the Wolbachia-Spiroplasma coinfection was higher than expected from the frequency of each infection within a population. Endosymbiont infection frequencies exhibited associations with environmental factors: Wolbachia infection rates increased at localities with higher annual mean temperatures, while Cardinium and Spiroplasma infection rates increased at localities from higher altitudes. Wolbachia was more common in mites from Lycopersicon esculentum and Glycine max compared to those from Zea mays This study highlights that host-endosymbiont interactions may be associated with environmental factors, including climate and other geographically linked factors, as well as the host's food plant.IMPORTANCE The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of endosymbiont distribution and the infection patterns in spider mites. The main findings are that multiple endosymbiont infections were more common than expected and that endosymbiont infection frequencies were associated with environmental factors. This work highlights that host-endosymbiont interactions need to be studied within an environmental and geographic context.

Macro-environmental factors and physical activity in 28 European Union countries.

Data from the representative 2013 Eurobarometer survey were combined with macro-environmental data to assess relationships with different domains of physical activity (PA) in 28 European Union countries. Higher mean annual temperatures were the only macro-environmental factor found to be associated with levels of physical activity; an increase in the mean annual temperature by 1°C was associated with-0.94 fewer minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week (95% CI: -1.66 to -0.23). This highlights the importance of modifiable influences (e.g. opportunities for active travel) on PA and underscores the potential of public health interventions to raise levels of physical activity.

Variation in small organic N compounds and amino acid enantiomers along an altitudinal gradient

The absolute and relative concentration of small organic N compounds varies among soils, yet we have little idea what drives this variation among soils. Previous studies have noted differences in DON/DIN and amino acid profiles among sites differing in altitude and/or productivity, and thus it seemed plausible that similar factors would have broader effects on the molecular composition of the pool of small organic N. To test this idea we used an altitudinal transect that ranged from a low altitude forest of Eucalyptus regnans with a canopy height averaging 65 m through to coniferous shrubbery that was above the alpine treeline and had a canopy less than 50 cm high. From low to high altitude mean annual temperature decreased 7 °C such that turnover was likely twice as slow at the highest site than the lowest. Capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify the main small organic N compounds in free, adsorbed and microbial fractions of the soil; while chiral liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to quantify amino acid enantiomers in hydrolysed soil and the free, adsorbed and microbial fractions of soil.CE-MS detected 66 small (<250 Da) organic N compounds of which 63 could be positively identified. Protein amino acids were a large fraction of the pool of small organic N, but there were also large amounts of non-protein amino acids, quaternary ammonium compounds and alkylamines. There were differences among sites in the profile of small organic N, but these differences were not monotonically related to altitude and there was no evidence pools of small organic N were larger or enriched in recalcitrant compounds at cooler high altitude sites. Among sites there was only modest variation in the molecular composition of the protein amino acid pool probably because protein amino acids are primarily derived from a common source (i.e. depolymerisation of soil proteins). In contrast, there was substantially larger variation within pools of non-protein amino acids, alkylamines and quaternary ammonium compounds; which is probably because compounds from these classes are primarily products of de novo synthesis by specific organisms, and thus molecular composition varies among sites depending on composition of the microbial community.D-enantiomers of amino acids were at low concentrations relative to L enantiomers such that in soil extracts the summed concentration of d-amino acids was 0.5–0.6% of L amino acids, while in hydrolysates D-enantiomers were 0.99% of L-enantiomers. There was no evidence that absolute or relative concentrations of D-enantiomers in free solution, microbial biomass or hydrolysates were larger at high altitude sites, despite turnover likely being slower at the cooler high altitude sites. The absence of an effect of altitude on D/L probably indicates that the turnover of soil proteins is comparatively rapid and thus soil proteins are similarly young even among sites in which mean annual temperature differs by 7 °C.

Range position and climate sensitivity: The structure of among-population demographic responses to climatic variation.

Species' distributions will respond to climate change based on the relationship between local demographic processes and climate and how this relationship varies based on range position. A rarely tested demographic prediction is that populations at the extremes of a species' climate envelope (e.g., populations in areas with the highest mean annual temperature) will be most sensitive to local shifts in climate (i.e., warming). We tested this prediction using a dynamic species distribution model linking demographic rates to variation in temperature and precipitation for wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in North America. Using long-term monitoring data from 746 populations in 27 study areas, we determined how climatic variation affected population growth rates and how these relationships varied with respect to long-term climate. Some models supported the predicted pattern, with negative effects of extreme summer temperatures in hotter areas and positive effects on recruitment for summer water availability in drier areas. We also found evidence of interacting temperature and precipitation influencing population size, such as extreme heat having less of a negative effect in wetter areas. Other results were contrary to predictions, such as positive effects of summer water availability in wetter parts of the range and positive responses to winter warming especially in milder areas. In general, we found wood frogs were more sensitive to changes in temperature or temperature interacting with precipitation than to changes in precipitation alone. Our results suggest that sensitivity to changes in climate cannot be predicted simply by knowing locations within the species' climate envelope. Many climate processes did not affect population growth rates in the predicted direction based on range position. Processes such as species-interactions, local adaptation, and interactions with the physical landscape likely affect the responses we observed. Our work highlights the need to measure demographic responses to changing climate.

Relationships between the potential production of the greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and N2O and soil concentrations of C, N and P across 26 paddy fields in southeastern China

Paddy fields are a major global anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases. China has the second largest area under rice cultivation, so determining the relationships between the emission of greenhouse gases and soil carbon content, nutrient availabilities and concentrations and physical properties is crucial for minimizing the climatic impacts of rice agriculture. We examined soil nutrients and other properties, greenhouse-gas production and their relationships in 26 paddy fields throughout the province of Fujian in China, one of the most important provinces for rice production. High P and K concentrations, contents and availabilities were correlated with low rates of CO2 production, whereas high C and N contents were correlated with high rates of CH4 production. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) and rates of gas production were not clearly correlated, at least partly due to the management of flooding that can mask the effect of precipitation. Higher mean annual temperatures and soil Fe contents favored the production of N2O. C, N, P and K concentrations and their ratios, especially the C:K and N:K ratios, and P availability were correlated with CO2 and CH4 production across the province, with higher C:K and N:K ratios correlated positively with increased CO2 production and available P correlated negatively with CH4 production. A management strategy to avoid excessive C accumulation in the soil and to increase P availability and decrease available Fe contents would likely decrease the production of greenhouse gases.

Factors restricting the range expansion of the invasive green anole Anolis carolinensis on Okinawa Island, Japan.

The green anole Anolis carolinensis invaded the Ogasawara Islands in Japan, drove various native species to extinction, and its distribution expanded 14 years after initial establishment. A. carolinensis invaded Okinawa Island, but it has not expanded its distribution in more than 25 years, although its density is extremely high in the southern region. To determine whether A. carolinensis has the potential to expand its distribution on Okinawa Island, we performed phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial ND2 DNA sequences to study the origin of A. carolinensis that invaded Okinawa Island. We further used a species distribution model (MaxEnt) based on the distribution of native populations in North America to identify ecologically suitable areas on Okinawa Island. Nucleotide sequence analysis shows that the invader A. carolinensis originated in the western part of the Gulf Coast and inland areas of the United States and that a portion of the anoles on Okinawa was not introduced via the Ogasawara Islands. The MaxEnt predictions indicate that most areas in Okinawa Island are suitable for A. carolinensis. Therefore, A. carolinensis may have the potential to expand its distribution in Okinawa Island. The predictions indicate that habitat suitability is high in areas of high annual mean temperature and urbanized areas. The values of precipitation in summer in the northern region of Okinawa Island were higher compared with those of North America, which reduced the habitat suitability in Okinawa Island. Adaptation to low temperatures, an increase in the mean temperature through global warming, and an increase in open environments through land development will likely expand the distribution of A. carolinensis in Okinawa Island. Therefore, we must continue to monitor the introduced populations and be alert to the possibility that city planning that increases open environments may cause their range to expand.

Repeated Drought Alters Resistance of Seed Bank Regeneration in Baldcypress Swamps of North America

Recurring drying and wetting events are likely to increase in frequency and intensity in predicted future droughts in the central USA and alter the regeneration potential of species. We explored the resistance of seed banks to successive droughts in 53 sites across the nine locations in baldcypress swamps in the southeastern USA. Along the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley and northern Gulf of Mexico, we investigated the capacity of seed banks to retain viable seeds after successive periods of drying and wetting in a greenhouse study. Mean differences in species richness and seed density were compared to examine the interactions of successive droughts, geographical location and water regime. The results showed that both species richness and total density of germinating seedlings decreased over repeated drought trials. These responses were more pronounced in geographical areas with higher annual mean temperature. In seed banks across the southeastern swamp region, most species were exhausted after Trial 2 or 3, except for semiaquatic species in Illinois and Tennessee, and aquatic species in Texas. Distinct geographical trends in seed bank resistance to drought demonstrate that climate-induced drying of baldcypress swamps could influence the regeneration of species differently across their ranges. Despite the health of adult individuals, lack of regeneration may push ecosystems into a relict status. Seed bank depletion by germination without replenishment may be a major conservation threat in a future with recurring droughts far less severe than megadrought. Nevertheless, the protection of moist refugia might aid conservation.

Species-specific ecological niche modelling predicts different range contractions for Lutzomyia intermedia and a related vector of Leishmania braziliensis following climate change in South America

BackgroundBefore 1996 the phlebotomine sand fly Lutzomyia neivai was usually treated as a synonym of the morphologically similar Lutzomyia intermedia, which has long been considered a vector of Leishmania braziliensis, the causative agent of much cutaneous leishmaniasis in South America. This report investigates the likely range changes of both sand fly species in response to a stabilisation climate change scenario (RCP4.5) and a high greenhouse gas emissions one (RCP8.5).MethodsEcological niche modelling was used to identify areas of South America with climates currently suitable for each species, and then the future distributions of these climates were predicted based on climate change scenarios. Compared with the previous ecological niche model of L. intermedia (sensu lato) produced using the GARP algorithm in 2003, the current investigation modelled the two species separately, making use of verified presence records and additional records after 2001. Also, the new ensemble approach employed ecological niche modelling algorithms (including Maximum Entropy, Random Forests and Support Vector Machines) that have been widely adopted since 2003 and perform better than GARP, as well as using a more recent climate change model (HadGEM2) considered to have better performance at higher resolution than the earlier one (HadCM2).ResultsLutzomyia intermedia was shown to be the more tropical of the two species, with its climatic niche defined by higher annual mean temperatures and lower temperature seasonality, in contrast to the more subtropical L. neivai. These different latitudinal ranges explain the two species' predicted responses to climate change by 2050, with L. intermedia mostly contracting its range (except perhaps in northeast Brazil) and L. neivai mostly shifting its range southwards in Brazil and Argentina. This contradicts the findings of the 2003 report, which predicted more range expansion. The different findings can be explained by the improved data sets and modelling methods.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that climate change will not always lead to range expansion of disease vectors such as sand flies. Ecological niche models should be species specific, carefully selected and combined in an ensemble approach.

Evaluation of seed components of wild soybean (Glycine soja) collected in Japan using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

AbstractSeed composition, including the protein, lipid and sucrose contents of 334 accessions of wild soybean (Glycine soja) collected in Japan, was evaluated using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) technology. The distribution of protein, lipid and sucrose contents and correlations among these three classes of seed components were determined. Protein, lipid and sucrose levels ranged in accessions from 48.6 to 57.0, 9.0 to 14.3 and 1.24 to 3.53%, respectively. Average levels of protein, lipid and sucrose in the accessions were 54, 11 and 2.5%, respectively. High negative correlations were observed between the protein and lipid contents, and the protein and sucrose contents. Mean levels of the three constituents were compared among collection sites classified by climatic conditions. The total protein content of accessions from regions with a high annual mean temperature was high. The protein content of accessions from the II-1 region was higher than those from the III-3 region, and the sucrose content from the II-1 region was lower than those from regions III-2 and IV-3. The lipid content of plants from the II-1 region was lower than those from other regions, and the accessions in region II had a higher protein content and lower sucrose and lipid contents than the other regions. These results provide diverse and wide-ranged protein, lipid and sucrose contents information of Japanese wild soybean resources according to climatic region; thus, providing a foundation for the future development and selection of new soybean varieties with desired traits in global environmental changes.

Modelling macroinvertebrate and fish biotic indices: From reaches to entire river networks

We modelled three macroinvertebrate (IASPT, EPT number of families and LIFE) and one fish (percentage of salmonid biomass) biotic indices to river networks draining a large region (110,000km2) placed in Northern and Eastern Spain. Models were developed using Random Forest and 26 predictor variables (19 predictors to model macroinvertebrate indices and 22 predictors to model the fish index). Predictor variables were related with different environmental characteristics (water quality, physical habitat characteristics, hydrology, topography, geology and human pressures). The importance and effect of predictors on the 4 biotic indices was evaluated with the IncNodePurity index and partial dependence plots, respectively. Results indicated that the spatial variability of macroinvertebrate and fish indices were mostly dependent on the same environmental variables. They decreased in river reaches affected by high mean annual nitrate concentration (>4mg/l) and temperature (>12°C), with low flow water velocity (<0.4m/s) and aquatic plant communities being dominated by macrophytes. These indices were higher in the Atlantic region than in the Mediterranean. This study provides a continuous image of river biological communities used as indicators, which turns very useful to identify the main sources of change in the ecological status of water bodies and assist both, the integrated catchment management and the identification of river reaches for recovery.

Community variation in wood density along a bioclimatic gradient on a hyper‐diverse tropical island

AbstractAimsAnalyse the controversial relationship existing between wood density, precipitation, temperature and aridity, and its importance in shaping forest communities facing drought.LocationNew Caledonia (SW Pacific).MethodsWe sampled wood density in 1580 trees belonging to 175 species across nine sites (eight 1‐ha plots) located in dry, mesic and humid forests. We tested whether wood density varied across species, communities and habitats, and depended on mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT) and an aridity index (AI). We also tested whether the variations observed in community mean wood density (WDmean) and in wood density standard deviation differed from those obtained by a randomized species distribution across communities. We constructed a phylogenetic supertree at genus level and tested for the non‐random distribution of WDmean.ResultsWe found that WDmean tended to increase with increasing aridity (i.e. decreasing MAP and increasing MAT) and was significantly higher than expected under randomized species distribution at the dry forest site only. However, some species with low wood density grew well at these dry sites. At genus level, wood density was not random within the phylogenetic supertree. Some lineages exhibiting higher wood density than expected by randomization were also the most represented at the dry sites.ConclusionsAlthough we did not observe an environmental filter sensu stricto, aridity associated with a low MAP and a high MAT at the dry and mesic forest sites was likely to favour species with a high wood density. Our phylogenetic results suggested that species belonging to a few lineages exhibiting high wood density were likely to be adapted to drought, hence favoured by increasing drought.

Distribution and ecology of the flightless bush-cricket Poecilimon schmidtii at its northern range margin

AbstractThe distributional patterns and ecology of the ponto-mediterranean species

Latitudinal distribution of microbial communities in anaerobic biological stabilization ponds: effect of the mean annual temperature.

SummaryConsidering wide utilization and high methane fluxes from anaerobic biological stabilization ponds (ABSPs), understanding the methanogenesis in ABSPs is of fundamental importance. Here we investigated the variation and impact factors of methanogenesis in seven ABSPs that spanned from the north to the south of China. Results showed that methanogen abundance (7.7 × 109–8.7 × 1010 copies g−1 dry sediment) and methanogenic activities (2.2–21.2 μmol CH 4 g−1 dry sediment h−1) were considerable for all sediments. Statistical analysis demonstrated that compared with other factors (ammonium, pH, COD and TOC), mean annual temperature (MAT) showed the lowest P value and thus was the most important influencing factor for the methanogenic process. Besides, with the increasing MAT, methanogenic activity was enhanced mainly due to the shift of the dominant methanogenic pathway from acetoclastic (49.8–70.7%) in low MAT areas to hydrogenotrophic (42.0–54.6%) in high MAT areas. This shift of methanogenic pathway was also paralleled with changes in composition of bacterial communities. These results suggested that future global warming may reshape the composition of methanogen communities and lead to an increasing methane emission from ABSPs. Therefore, further research is urgently needed to globally estimate methane emissions from ABSPs and re‐examine the role of ABSPs in wastewater treatment.