Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from irrigated lowland rice paddies after wheat straw application and midseason aeration

Abstract

Straw application and midseason drainage play role in controlling methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from rice paddy fields, but little information is available on their integrative effect on CH4 and N2O emissions. A two-year field experiment was conducted to study the combined effect of timing and duration of midseason aeration and wheat straw incorporation on mitigation of global warming potential (GWP) of CH4 and N2O emissions from irrigated lowland rice paddy fields. Results showed that incorporation of wheat straw increased CH4 by a factor of 5-9 under various water regimes, but simultaneously decreased N2O emission by 19-42 % during the rice growing season. Without straw incorporation, prolonged aeration significantly reduced the net 100-year GWP of CH4 and N2O emissions by 6 %, but also decreased rice production when compared with normal aeration. With straw incorporation, the lowest GWP was found by early aeration, which reduced GWP by 7 and 20 % in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Estimation of net GWPs of CH4 and N2O emissions indicated that early midsea- son drainage with straw incorporation offered the potential to mitigate CH4 and N2O emissions from irrigated lowland rice paddies in China.