Effect of Land Management in Winter Crop Season on Methane Emission from the Following Rice Growth Period

  • Z. C. Cai
  • H. Xu
Chapter
Part of the Environmental Science Research book series (ESRH, volume 55)

Abstract

A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of land management in winter crop season on CH4 emission from the following rice growth period. The results showed that the mean CH4 flux from the soil flooded and fallowed in the winter crop season (FF) was the highest (25.93 mg CH4 m−2 h−1), followed by the soil planted with alfalfa and incorporated with 3.4% green manure in the top layer (AL) before it was flooded and prepared for rice transplanting (21.44 mg CH4 m−2 h−1). The CH4 emissions from the soil planted with winter wheat (WW) and the soil drained and fallowed (DF) were only 19.6 and 17.4% of that from FF, respectively. Drainage in the winter crop season led to an increase in the oxidant content in the soil and slowed down the decrease rate of soil Eh after the soil was flooded. There was a significant relationship between the simultaneously measured CH4 flux and soil Eh for DF and WW treatments. The soil redox potential was low enough for CH4 production when the rice was transplanted and was not a critical factor influencing CH4 emission in FF treatment during the rice growth period. Incorporation of green manure provided extra electron donors and carbon sources, which accelerated soil reduction rate after the soil was flooded and stimulated CH4 emission. It is concluded that the water management not only in the rice growth periods but also in the non-rice growth period plays a very important role in governing CH4 emission from rice fields.

Keywords

methane emission water management winter crop season 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1998

Authors and Affiliations

  • Z. C. Cai
    • 1
  • H. Xu
    • 1
  1. 1.Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Soil ScienceNanjingChina

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