Nitrogen as a regulatory factor of methane oxidation in soils and sediments

The oxidation of methane by methane-oxidising microorganisms is an important link in the global methane budget. Oxic soils are a net sink while wetland soils are a net source of atmospheric methane. It has generally been accepted that the consumption of methane in upland as well as lowland systems is inhibited by nitrogenous fertiliser additions. Hence, mineral nitrogen (i.e. ammonium/nitrate) has conceptually been treated as a component with the potential to enhance emission of methane from soils and sediments to the atmosphere, and results from numerous studies have been interpreted as such. Recently, ammonium-based fertilisation was demonstrated to stimulate methane consumption in rice paddies. Growth and…

• NI
  Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie
• KN
  Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen