Methane oxidation by Dutch grassland and peat soil microflora

The ability of Dutch grassland soil and Dutch peat soil for methane oxidation was investigated. The kinetics of methane oxidation by soil from different depths were determined in batch cultures incubated with 1; 10; 100; and 10,000 ppmv methane, respectively. All 4 applied concentrations of methane were degraded by both types of soil. Thereby, the highest oxidative activities were observed between 5 and 10 cm soil depth. Most importantly, these experiments demonstrated that this soil acts as a sink for methane even at concentrations well below 1 ppmv. Especially at higher methane concentrations (100 - 10,000 ppmv) much higher degradation rates were found in the peat soil. This also correlates with the higher methane production rates which had been observed in peat soil.