Effect of temperature on reduction of iron and production of carbon dioxide and methane in anoxic wetland rice soils

 Wetland rice soils from Italy (Pavia) and the Philippines (Bugallon, Luisiana, Maligaya) were incubated under anoxic conditions at 31 different temperatures ranging from 4.7  °C to 49.5  °C. Production of CO₂ was most intensive at the beginning of the incubation (0–4 days) and was predominantly coupled to the reduction of free Fe(III). The optimum temperature for these processes was between 32  °C and 41  °C. After 9–16 days, CO₂ production rates had decreased and the available Fe(III) had been completely reduced at the optimum temperatures. However, Fe(III) was still available at temperatures below and above the optimum. Maximum CH₄ production rates were observed after 4–16 days (except in soil from Maligaya) with temperature optima between 32  °C and 41  °C, similar to those for CO₂ production and Fe reduction. Since ongoing Fe reduction is known to suppress CH₄ production, the temperature range of optimum CH₄ production was restricted to those temperatures at which Fe(III) had already been depleted. Nevertheless, the temperature characteristics of both CO₂ and CH₄ production often exhibited two temperature optima at some time during the incubation, suggesting a complex pattern of adaptation of the methanogenic microbial community to temperature. When available Fe(III) was completely depleted by anoxic pre-incubation at 30  °C, CH₄ was produced at a constant rate (steady state conditions) which increased with increasing temperature. Steady state CH₄ production reached a first maximum at about 40  °C, but increased further up to at least 50  °C, suggesting the presence of thermophilic microorganisms whose activity was apparently masked when Fe had not been completely reduced. The apparent activation energy of CH₄ production at steady state ranged between 48 kJ mol^–1 and 65 kJ mol^–1. Received: 26 August 1999