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How do soil bacteria remove methane from the atmosphere?
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Greenhouse gas
Map of annual carbon dioxide emissions by country in 2014.
Soil bacteria play a critical role in regulating atmospheric methane levels by acting as a natural sink. They remove methane from the atmosphere through the process of oxidation, where specialized bacteria consume the gas as part of their metabolic activity.1
While methane is primarily produced in anaerobic environments by archaea known as methanogens, soil serves as a vital location where these methane-oxidizing bacteria can intercept and break down the gas before it contributes further to the greenhouse effect. This biological process is one of the few natural mechanisms that help offset the accumulation of methane caused by both natural sources and human activities, such as livestock farming and the use of fossil fuels.21