The inhibitory effect of difluoromethane on CH4 oxidation in reconstructed peat columns and side-effects on CO2 and N2O emissions at two water levels

Methane emissions from soils are the net result of two processes: methane (CH₄) production and CH₄ oxidation. In order to understand how both processes respond to environmental changes, it is necessary to distinguish between CH₄ production and oxidation. In bacterial cultures and small soil samples, difluoromethane (CH₂F₂) was found to inhibit CH₄ oxidation reversibly, without affecting CH₄ production. Hence, CH₂F₂ allows the study of CH₄ production directly and of CH₄ oxidation indirectly. To our knowledge, however, the inhibitory effect of CH₂F₂ within soil columns has not yet been evaluated. We therefore tested which CH₂F₂ concentration is needed for complete inhibition of CH₄ oxidation in reconstructed 28 cm high peat soil columns under different water levels (WL). We found that soil columns require considerably higher headspace CH₂F₂ concentrations for complete inhibition of CH₄ oxidation than small soil samples. Inhibition remained complete until ca. 24 h after CH₂F₂ exposure. Then, the inhibitory effect diminished. The time needed for the inhibitory effect to disappear depended on WL; at a low WL of −15 cm, the inhibitory effect declined slowly and oxidation rates recovered by 90% only after 12 days. At WL = −5 cm, CH₄ oxidation recovered much faster (90% recovery after ca. 3 days). Last, CH₂F₂ addition significantly decreased the N₂O emissions, whereas CO₂ emissions remained unaltered.