ABSTRACT
A monthly measurement of soil CH4 uptake rate (V(CH4)) in a natural Castanopsis carlesii forest in Wanmulin Natural Reserve of Fujian Province, East China was conducted from March 2010 to February 2011. The VCH4 showed a pronounced seasonal fluctuation, being higher in summer-autumn than in winter-spring, with the maximum value (95.13 microg x m(-2) x h(-1)) in September and the minimum value (9.13 microg x m(-2) x h(-1)) in March. With the increase of soil temperature and moisture, the V(CH4) showed an increasing and a decreasing trend, respectively, but the correlations of the V(CH4) with soil temperature and moisture were not significant. The annual soil CH4 flux of the forest (3.93 kg x hm(-2) x a(-1)) was higher than the average value of global natural forests (2.4 kg x hm(-2) x a(-1)) and of Asian tropical natural forests (2.07 kg x hm(-2) x a(-1)), but lower than that of Asian temperate natural forests (8.12 kg x hm(-2) x a(-1)).