Methane Production Is More Sensitive to Temperature Increase than Aerobic and Anaerobic Methane Oxidation in Chinese Paddy Soils

Methane emissions from paddy fields can increase under future warming scenarios. Nevertheless, a comprehensive comparison of the temperature sensitivity of methane-related microbial processes remains elusive. Here, we revealed that the temperature sensitivity of methane production (activation energy (E_a) = 0.94 eV; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78–1.10 eV) and aerobic (E_a = 0.49 eV; 95% CI, 0.34–0.65 eV) and anaerobic (E_a = 0.46 eV; 95% CI, 0.30–0.62 eV) methane oxidation exhibited notable spatial heterogeneity across 12 Chinese paddy fields spanning 35° longitude and 18° latitude. In addition, the E_a values of aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation were significantly positively and negatively correlated to the latitude, respectively, while there was no significant correlation between the E_a of methane production and the latitude. Overall, there were no soil factors that had a significant effect on the E_a of methane production. The E_a of aerobic methane oxidation was primarily influenced by the contents of ammonium and clay, whereas the E_a of anaerobic methane oxidation was mainly influenced by the conductivity. Despite the variation, the overall temperature sensitivity of methane production was significantly higher than that of oxidation at a continental scale; therefore, an increase in the emission of methane from paddy fields will be predicted under future warming. Taken together, our study revealed the characteristics of temperature sensitivity of methane production and aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation simultaneously in Chinese paddy fields, highlighting the potential roles of soil factors in influencing temperature sensitivity.