Seasonal and Diurnal Methane Emissions From a Landfill

and Their Regulation By Methane Oxidation

Gunnar BrjessonDepartment of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box
7025, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Bo H. SvenssonDepartment of Water and Environmental Studies, Linkping University, S-581 83
Linkping, Sweden
Rates of methane emission from a Swedish landfill, measured by chamber technique and permanent
frames, ranged between 0.034
and 20 mmol CH4 m-2.h-1 on average. The emissions followed a seasonal pattern, with the highest
fluxes occurring between September and May. Methane
concentrations in soil also followed a seasonal pattern, with a marked decrease during summers.
Using the means of methane
emission rates from frost-free periods, a stepwise regression model was made, that could explain
95% of the variation. Soil
temperature turned out to be the dominating factor, explaining 85% when transformed to a seconddegree function. Methane emissions
were negatively correlated with soil temperature, which strongly suggests that biological methane
oxidation is an important
regulating factor. The activity of methane-oxidizing microorganisms was greatest around 0.5-0.6 m
depth in the soil profile,
and moisture at this level enhanced emissions. The tendency for methane emissions to be higher at
night was probably due to
the inhibitory influence of low soil temperatures on methane-oxidizing microorganisms. 1997
ISWA