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

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 midseason drainage with straw incorporation offered the potential to mitigate CH₄ and N₂O emissions from irrigated lowland rice paddies in China.