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Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from paddy fields with no fertilizer use under continuous irrigation with treated municipal wastewater

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Abstract

Treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation has been recommended as an environmentally friendly agricultural practice and has been applied in many countries for decades. The effects of wastewater irrigation on rice yield and quality, as well as on the environment, with particular focus on greenhouse gas emissions from paddy fields with municipal wastewater irrigation, have gained substantial attention. In this study, bench-scale experiments were conducted in two cultivation seasons where seedlings of Bekoaoba, a large-grain high-yield rice variety, were transplanted and irrigated with TWW without fertilization. A control experiment was performed to simulate the cultivation conditions of normal paddy fields. The study aimed to quantify the effects of TWW irrigation on rice yield and quality, in addition to CH4 and N2O emissions. The highest rice yield (10.4 t ha−1) and protein content in brown rice (13.8%) was achieved when the soil was repeatedly subjected to bottom-to-top TWW irrigation without any synthetic fertilizer. Bottom-to-top TWW irrigation decreased CH4 emissions by up to 95.6% when compared with tap water irrigation, whereas bottom-to-top and top-to-top TWW irrigation increased N2O emissions by 5 and 15 times, respectively. Bottom-to-top irrigation of TWW could be considered a promising solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions as TWW irrigation resulted in a lower combined global warming potential than tap water irrigation. Further, bottom-to-top irrigation of TWW produced less CH4 and N2O than top-to-top irrigation.

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Abbreviations

EC:

Electrical conductivity

GHG:

Greenhouse gas

MSD:

Midsummer drainage

ORP:

Oxidation-reduction potential

SPAD:

Soil plant analysis development

TN:

Total nitrogen

TWW:

Treated wastewater

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

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Funding

This study was supported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan through the Gesuido Academic Incubation to Advanced (GAIA) project, and by the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science, and Technology (MEXT) of Japan through the Center of Community (COC) project. This study was conducted as a part of the activities of the Institute for Regional Innovation, Yamagata University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Engineering, National University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dong Duy Pham

  2. Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Jalan Flora, Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

    Agnes Hoki Briliana Suhono

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, 1-23 Wakaba-machi, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, 997-8555, Japan

    Nobuo Kaku & Toru Watanabe

  4. School of Creative System Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Akita College, Bunkyo-cho 1-1, Iijima, Akita, Akita, Japan

    Shuhei Masuda

  5. Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita Prefectural University, 241-438 Aza Kaidobata-Nishi, Shimoshinjo Nakano, Akita, 010-0195, Japan

    Fumiaki Takakai

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  1. Dong Duy Pham
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  2. Agnes Hoki Briliana Suhono
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  3. Nobuo Kaku
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  4. Shuhei Masuda
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  5. Fumiaki Takakai
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  6. Toru Watanabe
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Contributions

Conceiving experiment: Dong Pham Duy, Toru Watanabe.

Conducting experiment: Dong Pham Duy, Agnes Hoki Briliana Suhono, Nobuo Kaku, Shuhei Masuda, Fumiaki Takakai.

Analyzing the data: Dong Pham Duy.

Preparing the manuscript draft: Dong Pham Duy.

Revising the manuscript: all the authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dong Duy Pham.

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Pham, D.D., Suhono, A.H.B., Kaku, N. et al. Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from paddy fields with no fertilizer use under continuous irrigation with treated municipal wastewater. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 23420–23431 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12328-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12328-0

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