Increased soil moisture intensifies the impacts of forest-to-pasture conversion on methane emissions and methane-cycling communities in the Eastern Amazon.

Climatic changes are altering precipitation patterns in the Amazon and may influence soil methane (CH) fluxes due to the differential responses of methanogenic and methanotrophic microorganisms. However, it remains unclear if these climate feedbacks can amplify land-use-related impacts on the CH cycle. To better predict the responses of soil CH-cycling microorganisms and emissions under altered moisture levels in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, we performed a 30-day microcosm experiment manipulating the moisture content (original moisture; 60%, 80%, and 100% of field capacity - FC) of forest and pasture soils.