First evidence for anaerobic oxidation of methane process in landfill cover soils: Activity and responsible microorganisms

Landfill cover soils (LCS) play important roles in mitigating methane emissions from landfills. Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) has been demonstrated as a potential methane removal process in aquatic ecosystems. However, whether AOM could occur in LCS is largely unknown. Here, microcosm incubations with (CH4)-C-13 were applied to track the potential activities of AOM and quantitative PCR was used to identify the responsible microorganisms. AOM was found to be active in the bottom and middle layers of LCS. In the bottom layer, sulfate-AOM was the most active process, mainly dominated by ANME archaea (without ANME-2d). Meanwhile, in the middle layer, nitrate and nitrite were the major electron acceptors involved in AOM with high abundances of ANME-2d archaea and NC10 bacteria. Our results implied a spatial segregation of methane oxidizing microbes in LCS and might be helpful for future control of methane emissions by the enhancement of AOM.