Soil trace gas oxidizers divergently respond to short- and long-term warming

Nguyen-Dinh, T.; Tlaskal, V.; Leung, P. M.; Wutkowska, M.; Nweze, J. A.; Yla-Soininmaki, K.; Kerttula, J.; Dahl, M. B.; Sollinger, A.; Schmider, T.; Biasi, C.; Richter, A.; Urich, T.; Tveit, A. T.; Greening, C.; Sigurdsson, B. D.; Daebeler, A.

doi:10.1101/2025.11.18.689010

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.11.18.689010

Soil trace gas oxidizers divergently respond to short- and long-term warming

Nguyen-Dinh, T.·Tlaskal, V.·Leung, P. M.·Wutkowska, M.·Nweze, J. A.·Yla-Soininmaki, K.·Kerttula, J.·Dahl, M. B.·Sollinger, A.·Schmider, T.·Biasi, C.·Richter, A.·Urich, T.·Tveit, A. T.·Greening, C.·Sigurdsson, B. D.·Daebeler, A.

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Abstract

The upland soil microbiome is dominated by aerobic bacteria that oxidize atmospheric trace gases, including CO, H2, and CH4. As a result, soils are the largest biological sink for these climate-active gases. Whether global warming will enhance or suppress these processes remains unclear. Here, we studied the warming responses of soil trace gas oxidizers by profiling natural geothermal gradients in a subarctic grassland with over 60 years of field warming at +6{degrees}C. We integrate field flux measurements, ex situ biogeochemical assays, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics to determine ecosystem and cellular-level responses. Our results show that the oxidation of atmospheric CO and H2, but not CH4, increased with long-term warming due to higher cell numbers. However, at the cellular level, trace gas oxidizers, especially methanotrophs, tended to reduce gas consumption and transcription of gas-metabolizing enzymes in response to long-term warming. Our findings suggest that soils may remain a robust sink for trace gases despite lower per-cell activity. This work establishes a framework for interpreting the relationships between temperature and microbial trace gas oxidation on timescales relevant to Earths climate system.

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Nguyen-Dinh, T., Tlaskal, V., Leung, P. M., Wutkowska, M., Nweze, J. A., Yla-Soininmaki, K., Kerttula, J., Dahl, M. B., Sollinger, A., Schmider, T., Biasi, C., Richter, A., Urich, T., Tveit, A. T., Greening, C., Sigurdsson, B. D., Daebeler, A.. 2025-11-18. Soil trace gas oxidizers divergently respond to short- and long-term warming. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.18.689010

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