Abstract: Excessive anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gas have led to global climate change in recently years. Methane is an important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Methane emissions increase with the global temperature, which further intensifies global warming. Soil is a huge source and sink of methane, and methanotrophic bacteria play a key role in reducing methane emissions. Exploring the effect of temperature on soil methane-oxidizing ability has been a research hotspot in recent years. This paper reviewed the effects of temperature on soil methane oxidation and methanotrophic bacteria; analyzes and compares the soil methane oxidation process and methanotrophic bacteria in various ecosystems at different temperatures, and the growth temperature range of methanotrophic bacteria strains. The results showed that various ecosystems have different temperature ranges for methane oxidation; the rate of methane oxidation increases with increasing temperature in their particular temperature ranges. When the cultivation temperature is closer to the in-situ temperature, the methane oxidation response will be faster. Similar to the effect of temperature on methane oxidation, the diversity and abundance of methanotrophic bacteria also increase with increasing temperature and are closely related to the magnitude of temperature increase and the adaptation temperature of dominant bacteria. Type II methanotrophic bacteria in the soil are more sensitive to temperature. As the temperature rises, the abundance of type II methanotrophs increases. Therefore, temperature affects the abundance and community structure of methanotrophs, thereby affecting the rate of methane oxidation and methane emissions. However, whether temperature can only change the methane oxidation capacity of the soil by regulating the replacement of dominant bacteria is still unconfirmed. This review discussed the response of methane oxidation to temperature and its microbial mechanism, in order to provides a comprehensive analysis for methane oxidation capacity under the context of future climate change.

Key words: Temperature, Methane oxidation, Soil, Methanotrophs