摘要:The current knowledge regarding the effect of global climate change on rice-paddy methane (CH4) emissions is incomplete, partly because information is limited concerning the mechanism of the microbial response to elevated ground-level ozone (O3). A field experiment was conducted in the China Ozone Free-Air Concentration Enrichment facility in a rice–wheat rotation system to investigate the responses of methanogenic archaeal communities to elevated ground-level O3 by culture-independent and -reliant approaches. We found that elevated ground-level O3 inhibited methanogenic activity and influenced the composition of paddy methanogenic communities, reducing the abundance and diversity of paddy methanogens by adversely affecting dominant groups, such as aceticlastic Methanosaeta , especially at the rice tillering stage. Our results indicated that continuously elevated ground-level O3 would negatively influence paddy methanogenic archaeal communities and its critical ecological function. These findings will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the responses and feedbacks of paddy ecosystems to global climate change.