Suppressing methane emission and global warming potential from rice fields through intermittent drainage and green biomass amendment

Winter cover crops are recommended to improve soil quality and carbon sequestration, although their use as green manure can significantly increase methane (CH4) emission from paddy soils. Soil management practices can be used to reduce CH4 emission from paddy soils, but intermittent drainage is regarded as a key practice to reduce CH4 emission and global warming potential (GWP). However, significantly greater emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are expected when large amounts of cover crop biomass are incorporated into soils. In this study, we investigated the effects of midseason drainage on CH4 emission and GWP following incorporation of 0, 3, 6 and 12 Mg/ha of cover crop biomass. Methane, CO2 and N2O emission rates significantly (P<0.05) increased with higher rates of cover crop biomass incorporation under both irrigation conditions. However, intermittent drainage effectively reduced seasonal CH4 fluxes by ca. 42-46% and GWP by 17-31% compared to continuous flooding. Moreover, there were no significant differences in rice yield between the two water management practices with similar biomass incorporation rates. In conclusion, intermittent drainage and incorporation of 3 Mg/ha of green biomass could be a good management option to reduce GWP.