In situ measurements and meta-analysis reveal that land-use changes combined with low nitrogen application promote methane uptake by temperate grasslands in China

Abstract Methane (CH4) oxidation in well-aerated grassland soils is an important sink for atmospheric CH4, which can be largely modified by land-use changes. However, the impacts of land-use changes (i.e., from native grasslands to artificial grasslands (AG) and croplands (CL)) on soil CH4 uptake in China remain uncertain. Therefore, the 2-year CH4 flux was measured from 3 land-use types, including heavily grazed steppe (HG, control), AG, and CL, in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Northern China to elucidate this impact. Moreover, a meta-analysis was conducted to elucidate this effect across Chinese grasslands. The results showed that the land-use types could not change the seasonal patterns but significantly (p