Microtopography Matters: Belowground CH₄ Cycling Regulated by Differing Microbial Processes in Peatland Hummocks and Lawns

Abstract

Abstract Water table depth and vegetation are key controls of methane (CH 4 ) emissions from peatlands. Microtopography integrates these factors into features called microforms. Microforms often differ in CH 4 emissions, but microform‐dependent patterns of belowground CH 4 cycling remain less clearly resolved. To investigate the impact of microtopography on belowground CH 4 cycling, we characterized depth profiles of the community composition and activity of CH 4 ‐cycling microbes using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, incubations, and measurements of porewater CH 4 concentration and isotopic composition from hummocks and lawns at Sallie's Fen in NH, USA. Geochemical proxies of methanogenesis and methanotrophy indicated that microforms differ in dominant microbial CH 4 cycling processes. Hummocks, where water table depth is lower, had higher porewater redox potential (Eh) and higher porewater δ 13 C‐CH 4 values in the upper 30 cm than lawns, where water table depth is closer to the peat surface. Porewater δ 13 C‐CH 4 and δD‐CH 3 D values were highest at the surface of hummocks where the ratio of methanotrophs to methanogens was also greatest. These results suggest that belowground CH 4 cycling in hummocks is more strongly regulated by methanotrophy, while in lawns methanogenesis is more dominant. We also investigated controls of porewater CH 4 chemistry. The ratio of the relative abundance of methanotrophs to methanogens was the strongest predictor of porewater CH 4 concentration and δ 13 C‐CH 4 , while vegetation composition had minimal influence. As microbial community composition was strongly influenced by redox conditions but not vegetation, we conclude that water table depth is a stronger control of belowground CH 4 cycling across microforms than vegetation.