Ka. Smith et al., Oxidation of atmospheric methane in Northern European soils, comparison with other ecosystems, and uncertainties in the global terrestrial sink, GL CHANGE B, 6(7), 2000, pp. 791-803
This paper reports the range and statistical distribution of oxidation rate
s of atmospheric CH4 in soils found in Northern Europe in an international
study, and compares them with published data for various other ecosystems.
It reassesses the size, and the uncertainty in, the global terrestrial CH4
sink, and examines the effect of land-use change and other factors on the o
xidation rate.
Only soils with a very high water table were sources of CH4; all others wer
e sinks. Oxidation rates varied from 1 to nearly 200 mu g CH4 m(-2) h(-1);
annual rates for sites measured for greater than or equal to 1 y were 0.1-9
.1 kg CH4 ha(-1) y(-1), with a log-normal distribution (log-mean approximat
e to 1.6 kg CH4 ha(-1) y(-1)). Conversion of natural soils to agriculture r
educed oxidation rates by two-thirds - closely similar to results reported
for other regions. N inputs also decreased oxidation rates. Full recovery o
f rates after these disturbances takes > 100 y. Soil bulk density, water co
ntent and gas diffusivity had major impacts on oxidation rates. Trends were
similar to those derived from other published work. Increasing acidity red
uced oxidation, partially but not wholly explained by poor diffusion throug
h litter layers which did not themselves contribute to the oxidation. The e
ffect of temperature was small, attributed to substrate limitation and low
atmospheric concentration.
Analysis of all available data for CH4 oxidation rates in situ showed simil
ar log-normal distributions to those obtained for our results, with general
ly little difference between different natural ecosystems, or between short
-and longer-term studies. The overall global terrestrial sink was estimated
at 29 Tg CH4 y(-1), close to the current IPCC assessment, but with a much
wider uncertainty range (7 to > 100 Tg CH4 y(-1)). Little or no information
is available for many major ecosystems; these should receive high priority
in future research.