CH 4 emission and oxidation in Chinese rice paddies

Abstract

In the paper, the characteristics of CH4 emission from the rice paddies, its temporary and spatial variations as well as factors regulating CH4 emission and oxidation are reviewed with an emphasis on CH4 emission from rice paddies in China. The observed four types of diel variation and two type of seasonal variation can be explained by the variations of methane production in the soil and the transport efficiencies of the three transport routs. The inter-annual variation of CH4 emission from rice fields is significant, but the process causing this change is very complicated and unclear based on the available data at present. The large special variation, more than 10 times difference, of the total season methane emissions observed in various rice fields in China, is largely attributed to soil type difference although both soil physics and chemistry are important. Rice growing activities regulate the diel and seasonal variation patterns of the methane emissions. Drainage of flooded water may significantly reduce the emission. Organic fertilizer may enhance the emission, while some of the chemical fertilizers may reduce the emission. Local climate conditions, average temperature and annual rainfall, may be responsible for part of the observed year to year differences of the total season emission. Estimates of total emissions of CH4 from Chinese rice fields, based on field measurement and model calculation, are 9.7–12.7 Tg/year and 8.17–10.52 Tg/year respectively, for the year of 1994. Oxidation of CH4 reduces the emission of CH4 produced in the soil of rice field to the atmosphere. The most likely sites for CH4 oxidation in rice fields are the water–soil interface and the rhizosphere. When the flood water dries up in irrigated fields, the oxidation of CH4 in the soil is more important and can partially explain the lower emission rates during the last period before harvest in most experiments. The magnitude of oxidation in the rhizosphere is not well known. Good correlation between methane reduction and O2 mixing ratio in the soil has been found in most soil types. Methane oxidation rate is mainly controlled by the gas transport resistance in the soil. The oxidation rate increases with the increase of temperature in the temperature range of 5–36 °C.