Work

Upland Methane Sinks Under Climate Change: Global Patterns, Drivers and Trends

Year: 2026

Type: article

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: ABSTRACT Well‐aerated upland soils serve as a crucial biological sink for atmospheric methane (CH 4 ), playing a key role in mitigating climate change. However, current understanding of how this CH 4 sink responds to global climate change remains limited. To address this, we integrated 1092 observational data points to construct a dataset covering multiple global change factors and used meta‐analysis to quantify the response mechanisms of the upland CH 4 sink. Results show that warming, reduced precipitation, and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations significantly strengthened the CH 4 sink, while increased precipitation and nitrogen addition weakened it. Interactive effects were also observed: low‐level nitrogen deposition acted antagonistically with increased precipitation, but synergistically with warming. We subsequently optimized a CH 4 oxidation model to explore the global distribution patterns and future trends under different climate scenarios. The current global upland soil CH 4 sink is estimated at approximately 37 Tg year −1 and generally shows an increasing temporal trend. Spatially, the sink exhibits heterogeneity: a greater extent of desert areas in the Northern Hemisphere leads to a lower CH 4 sink per unit area compared to the Southern Hemisphere. Future spatiotemporal trends of the soil CH 4 sink will depend on the climate pathway. Under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 1–2.6 scenario, the CH 4 sink declines over time, whereas under SSP5‐8.5, it follows a unimodal trajectory. Variations in the soil CH 4 sink also differ across regions. These changes are primarily associated with atmospheric CH 4 concentrations under different climate pathways, as well as alterations in soil temperature and moisture resulting from various climate change drivers. These findings underscore the importance of the upland CH 4 sink in the global CH 4 cycle and significantly advance our understanding of its response mechanisms to climate change.

Source: Global Change Biology

DOI: 10.1111/gcb.70747