title: Methane uptake in forest soils along an urban-to-rural gradient in Pearl River Delta, South China.
abstract: We investigated soil CH4 fluxes from six forests along an urban-to-rural gradient in Guangzhou City metropolitan area, South China. The most significant CH4 consumption was found in the rural site, followed by suburban, and then urban forest sites. The rates of CH4 uptake were significantly higher (by 38% and 44%, respectively for mixed forest and broadleaf forest) in the rural than in the urban forest site. The results indicate that soil water filled pore space (WFPS) is the primary factor for controlling CH4 consumption in subtropical forests. The reductions of soil CH4 uptake in urban forests were also influenced by the higher rates of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and increases in soil nitrate (NO3(-)) and aluminum (Al(3+)) contents as a result of urbanization. Results from this work suggest that environmental changes associated with urbanization could decrease soil CH4 consumption in subtropical forests and potentially contribute to increase of atmospheric CH4 concentration.
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China [2] Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
authors.forename: Keya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
authors.forename: Yiqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, China.
authors.forename: Yunting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
authors.forename: Junhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China [2] University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10039, China.
authors.forename: Xiaomin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China [2] University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10039, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
authors.forename: Wantong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
authors.forename: Jiangming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mo