Effect of intermittent drainage in reduction of methane emission from paddy soils in Hokkaido, northern Japan

Emission of methane (CH4), a major greenhouse gas, from submerged paddy soils is generally reduced by introducing intermittent drainage in summer, which is a common water management in Japan. However, such a practice is not widely conducted in Hokkaido, a northern region in Japan, to prevent a possible reduction in rice grain yield caused by cold weather. Therefore, the effects of intermittent drainage on CH4 emission and rice grain yield have not been investigated comprehensively in Hokkaido. In this study, we conducted a three-year field experiment in Hokkaido and measured CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes and rice grain yield to elucidate whether the reduction in CH4 emission can be achieved in Hokkaido as well as other regions in Japan. Four experimental treatments, namely, two soil types [soils of light clay (LiC) and heavy clay (HC) textures] and two water management [continuous flood irrigation (CF), and intermittent drainage (ID)], were used, and CH4 and N2O fluxes were measured throughout the rice cultivation periods from 2016 to 2018. Cumulative CH4 emissions in 2016 were markedly low, suggesting an initially low population of methanogens in the soils presumably due to no soil submergence or crop cultivation in the preceding years, which indicates a possible reduction in CH4 emission by introducing paddy-upland crop rotation. Cumulative CH4 emissions in the ID-LiC and ID-HC plots were 21-91% lower than those in the CF-LiC and CF-HC plots, respectively, whereas the cumulative N2O emissions did not significantly differ between the different water managements. The amount of CH4 emission reduction by the intermittent drainage was largest in 2018, with a comparatively long period of the first drainage for 12 days in summer. Rice grain yields did not significantly differ between the different water managements for the entire 3 years, although the percentage of well-formed rice grains was reduced by the intermittent drainage in 2018. These results suggest that CH4 emission from paddy fields can be reduced with no decrease in rice grain yield by the intermittent drainage in Hokkaido. In particular, the first drainage for a long period in summer is expected to reduce CH4 emission markedly.