T.A. McConnaughey D.C. Thorstenson E.P. Weeks J.C. Woodward Robert G. Striegl 1992 <p><span>Atmospheric concentrations of methane, a greenhouse gas, are increasing at a rate of about 1% yr</span>^-1<span>&nbsp;(refs 1–4). Oxidation by methylotrophic bacteria in soil is the largest terrestrial sink for atmospheric CH</span>₄<span>, and is estimated to consume about 30 x 10</span>¹²<span>&nbsp;g CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;yr</span>^-1<span>&nbsp;(refs 4–6). Spatial and temporal variability in the rate of soil CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;consumption are incompletely understood</span>^6–19<span>, as are the apparent inhibitory</span>^12,13,18<span>or enhancing</span>²⁰<span>&nbsp;effects of changes in land use. Dry deserts, which constitute 20% of total land surface, are not currently included in global soil uptake estimates. Here we describe measurements of the rate of uptake of atmospheric CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;by undisturbed desert soils. We observed rates as great as 4.38 mg CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;m</span>^-2<span>&nbsp;day</span>^-1<span>; 50% of the measured rates were between 0.24 and 0.92 mg CH</span>₄<span>m</span>^-2<span>d</span>^-1<span>. Uptake of CH</span>⁴<span>&nbsp;by desert soil is enhanced by rainfall after an initial soil-drainage period—opposite to the response of temperate forest soils</span>¹²<span>. Methane is consumed to a depth of about 2 m, allowing for deep removal of atmospheric CH</span>₄<span>if near-surface conditions are unfavourable for consumption. On the basis of an annual average CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;consumption rate of 0.66 mg CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;m</span>^-2<span>&nbsp;d</span>^-1<span>, we estimate that the global CH</span>₄<span>&nbsp;sink term needs to be increased by about 7 x 10</span>¹²<span>&nbsp;g yr</span>^-1<span>&nbsp;to account for the contribution of desert soils.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1038/357145a0 en Springer Nature Consumption of atmospheric methane by desert soils article