Methane (CH₄) is the main greenhouse gas emitted from rice paddy fields driven by methanogens, for which methanogenic abundance on CH₄ production has been intensively investigated. However, information is limited about the relationship between methanogenic diversity (e.g., richness and evenness) and CH₄ production. Three independent field experiments with different straw managements including returning method, burial depth, and burial amount were used to identify the effects of methanogenic diversity on CH₄ production, and its regulating factors from soil properties in a rice–wheat cropping system. The results showed that methanogenic evenness (dominance) can explain 23% of variations in CH₄ production potential. CH₄ production potential was positively related to methanogenic evenness (R² = 0.310, p < 0.001), which is driven by soil organic carbon (SOC), available phosphorus (AP), and nitrate (NO₃⁻) through structure equation model (SEM). These findings indicate that methanogenic evenness has a critical role in evaluating the responses of CH₄ production to agricultural practices following changes in soil properties. The SEM also revealed that SOC concentration influenced CH₄ production potential indirectly via complementarity of methanogenic evenness (dominance) and available phosphorus (AP). Increasing SOC accumulation improved AP release and stimulated CH₄ production when SOC was at a low level, whereas decreased evenness and suppressed CH₄ production when SOC was at a high level. A nonlinear relationship was detected between SOC and CH₄ production potential, and CH₄ production potential decreased when SOC was ≥14.16 g kg⁻¹. Our results indicated that the higher SOC sequestration can not only mitigate CO₂ emissions directly but CH₄ emissions indirectly, highlighting the importance to enhance SOC sequestration using optimum agricultural practices in a rice–wheat cropping system.

甲烷 (CH ₄ ) 是由产甲烷菌驱动的稻田排放的主要温室气体，对此甲烷丰度对 CH ₄生产的影响已得到深入研究。_{然而，关于产甲烷多样性（例如丰富度和均匀度）与 CH 4}产量之间关系的信息有限。使用不同秸秆管理方式（包括还田方法、埋藏深度和埋藏量）的三个独立田间试验，确定产甲烷多样性对 CH ₄产生的影响，及其在水稻-小麦种植系统中土壤性质的调节因素。结果表明，产甲烷均匀性（优势）可以解释 CH _{4中 23% 的变化}生产潜力。通过 结构方程模型^（_{_}  _ _{_} ^_ _扫描电镜）。这些发现表明，产甲烷均匀度在评估土壤特性变化后 CH _{4生产对农业实践的响应方面具有关键作用。}SEM 还显示 SOC 浓度影响 CH ₄通过产甲烷均匀度（优势）和有效磷（AP）的互补性间接产生生产潜力。当SOC处于低水平时，增加SOC积累改善AP释放并刺激CH _{4产生，而当SOC处于高水平时降低均匀度并抑制CH 4}产生。_{SOC与CH 4}生产潜力之间存在非线性关系，当SOC≥14.16 g kg ^-1时，CH ₄生产潜力降低。我们的结果表明，较高的 SOC 封存不仅可以直接减少 CO ₂排放，而且可以减少 CH ₄间接排放，强调了在稻麦种植系统中使用最佳农业实践来加强 SOC 封存的重要性。