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Laboratory and in situ measurements of soil methane consumption in a moist forest area of central Panama indicate that the conversion of forests to agricultural lands diminishes the soil sink for atmospheric methane. Rates of microbial methane consumption in agricultural soils were one fourth those of undisturbed forest soils. This reduction in soil methane consumption may partially account for past and future increases in atmospheric methane concentrations.
Keller et al. (Thu,) studied this question.