A methanotrophic community in a tropical peatland is unaffected by drainage and forest fires in a tropical peat soil

AbstractThe effects of drainage and forest fires on the methanotrophic activity and community structure of peat soils in a tropical forest were studied by analyzing methane fluxes and the population of methanotrophs. A denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis was used to target particular methane monooxygenase genes (pmoA). An incubation experiment was performed to investigate methane production activity relative to the effects of flooding and litter fall. Low levels of methane fluxes were observed in the soils in drained forest, natural forest and burned forest sites. These fluxes did not differ significantly among the sites (–0.02 ± 0.01–0.36 ± 0.30 mg C m−2 hr−1). The water-filled pore space (WFPS) showed a statistically significant positive relationship with methane fluxes and a statistically significant negative relationship with the populations of methanotrophs. A DGGE profile targeted on pmoA gene fragments showed no apparent differences in the gene patterns among the various soil ty...