Methane Production\nIs More Sensitive to Temperature\nIncrease than Aerobic and Anaerobic Methane Oxidation in Chinese Paddy\nSoils

Methane emissions from paddy fields can increase under\nfuture warming\nscenarios. Nevertheless, a comprehensive comparison of the temperature\nsensitivity of methane-related microbial processes remains elusive.\nHere, we revealed that the temperature sensitivity of methane production\n(activation energy (<i>E</i><sub>a</sub>) = 0.94 eV; 95%\nconfidence interval (CI), 0.78–1.10 eV) and aerobic (<i>E</i><sub>a</sub> = 0.49 eV; 95% CI, 0.34–0.65 eV) and\nanaerobic (<i>E</i><sub>a</sub> = 0.46 eV; 95% CI, 0.30–0.62\neV) methane oxidation exhibited notable spatial heterogeneity across\n12 Chinese paddy fields spanning 35° longitude and 18° latitude.\nIn addition, the <i>E</i><sub>a</sub> values of aerobic\nand anaerobic methane oxidation were significantly positively and\nnegatively correlated to the latitude, respectively, while there was\nno significant correlation between the <i>E</i><sub>a</sub> of methane production and the latitude. Overall, there were no soil\nfactors that had a significant effect on the <i>E</i><sub>a</sub> of methane production. The <i>E</i><sub>a</sub> of aerobic methane oxidation was primarily influenced by the contents\nof ammonium and clay, whereas the <i>E</i><sub>a</sub> of\nanaerobic methane oxidation was mainly influenced by the conductivity.\nDespite the variation, the overall temperature sensitivity of methane\nproduction was significantly higher than that of oxidation at a continental\nscale; therefore, an increase in the emission of methane from paddy\nfields will be predicted under future warming. Taken together, our\nstudy revealed the characteristics of temperature sensitivity of methane\nproduction and aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation simultaneously\nin Chinese paddy fields, highlighting the potential roles of soil\nfactors in influencing temperature sensitivity.