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Methane production, oxidation, and emission from Indian rice soils

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Book cover Methane Emissions from Major Rice Ecosystems in Asia

Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 91))

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Abstract

Experiments were conducted to investigate methane (CH4) production, oxidation, and emission from flooded rice soils. Incorporation of green manure (Seshania rostrata) into rice fields led to a several-fold increase in CH., emission. A stimulatory effect of organic sources on CH4 production in soil samples was noticed even under nonflooded conditions. Addition of rice straw at 1% (w/w) to nontlooded soil samples held at -1.5 MPa effected a 230-fold increase in CH4 production over that in corresponding unamended soil samples at 35 d, as compared with a threefold increase in rice straw-amended soil over that in unamended soil under flooded conditions. In a study involving two experimental field sites differing, in water regimes but planted to the same rice cultivar (cv Gayatri) and fertilized with prilled urea at 60 kg N ha-1, the field plots with deep submergence of around 30 cm (site I) emitted distinctly more CH4 than did the plots with continuous water depth of 3—6 cm (site II). Likewise, in another incubation study, CH4 production in flooded soil samples increased with a progressive increase in standing water column from 5 mm to 20 mm. Application of carbamate insecticide, carbofuran, at 2 kg ai ha-1 to rice fields retarded CH4 emission through enhanced CH4 oxidation. Hexachlorocyclohexane was found to inhibit CH4 emission. The results suggest the need for extensive research efforts to develop technologies with dual objectives of environmental protection and crop productivity.

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Author notes

  1. N. Sethunathan

    Present address: CSIRO Land and Water, PMB2, Glen Osmond, SA, 5064, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Microbiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India

    N. Sethunathan, S. Kumaraswamy & A. K. Rath

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Terrestrische Mikrobiologie, Karl-von-Frisch-Str., D-35043, Marburg, Germany

    B. Ramakrishnan

  3. Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, 753006, India

    S. N. Satpathy, T. K. Adhya & V. R. Rao

Authors
  1. N. Sethunathan
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  2. S. Kumaraswamy
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  3. A. K. Rath
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  4. B. Ramakrishnan
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  5. S. N. Satpathy
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  6. T. K. Adhya
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Reiner Wassmann Rhoda S. Lantin Heinz-Ulrich Neue

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Sethunathan, N. et al. (2000). Methane production, oxidation, and emission from Indian rice soils. In: Wassmann, R., Lantin, R.S., Neue, HU. (eds) Methane Emissions from Major Rice Ecosystems in Asia. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 91. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0898-3_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0898-3_33

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-3812-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0898-3

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