In a first experiment, the effect of land use on the uptake rate of atmospheric CH4 was studied in laboratory incubations of intact soil cores. A soil under deciduous forest showed the highest CH4 oxidation. Its overall CH4 uptake during the measuring period (202 days) was 1.03 kg CH4 ha–1. Natural grassland showed the second highest CH4 oxidizing capacity (0.71 kg CH4 ha–1). The overall amount of CH4 uptake by fertilized pasture was 0.33 kg CH4 ha–1. CH4 oxidation in arable soils with different fertilizer treatments varied between 0.34 and 0.37 kg CH4 ha–1. Undisturbed soils had a higher CH4 uptake capacity than agricultural soils. The moisture content of the soil was found to be an important parameter explaining temporal variations of CH4 oxidation. Different methods of fertilization which had been commenced 10 years previously were not yet reflected in the total CH4 uptake rate of the arable soil. In a second experiment, a number of frequently used pesticides were screened for their possible effect on CH4 oxidation. In a sandy arable soil lenacil, mikado and oxadixyl caused significantly reduced CH4 oxidation compared to the control. Under the same conditions, but in a clayey arable soil, mikado, atrazine and dimethenamid caused a reduction of the CH4 uptake. In a landfill cover soil, with a 100-fold higher CH4 oxidation rate, no inhibition of CH4 oxidation was observed, not even when the application rate of pesticides was tenfold higher than usual.