Biogeosciences www.biogeosciences.net 1726-4170 1726-4189 6 6 2009 10.5194/bg-6-1127-2009 http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/1127/2009/ http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/1127/2009/bg-6-1127-2009.html http://www.biogeosciences.net/6/1127/2009/bg-6-1127-2009.pdf 1127 1138 2009-06-29 Wetland restoration and methanogenesis: the activity of microbial populations and competition for substrates at different temperatures V. Jerman M. Metje I. Mandić-Mulec P. Frenzel frenzel@mpi-marburg.mpg.de Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch-Str., 35043 Marburg, Germany University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Food Science and Technology, Chair of Microbiology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Ljubljana marsh in Slovenia is a 16 000 ha area of partly drained fen, intended to be flooded to restore its ecological functions. The resultant water-logging may create anoxic conditions, eventually stimulating production and emission of methane, the most important greenhouse gas next to carbon dioxide. We examined the upper layer (~30 cm) of Ljubljana marsh soil for microbial processes that would predominate in water-saturated conditions, focusing on the potential for iron reduction, carbon mineralization (CO2 and CH4 production), and methane emission. Methane emission from water-saturated microcosms was near minimum detectable levels even after extended periods of flooding (>5 months). Methane production in anoxic soil slurries started only after a lag period of 84 d at 15°C and a minimum of 7 d at 37°C, the optimum temperature for methanogenesis. This lag was inversely related to iron reduction, which suggested that iron reduction out-competed methanogenesis for electron donors, such as H2 and acetate. Methane production was observed only in samples incubated at 14–38°C. 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