Soil CH4 and N2O Emissions from Rice Paddy Fields in Southern Brazil as Affected by Crop Management Levels: a Three-Year Field Study

Rice yield increases in response to improvements in crop management, but the impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the subtropical region of Southern Brazil remains unknown. A three-year field study was developed aiming to evaluate the impact that an increase in crop management levels (high and very high) has on soil methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, as compared to the level (medium) currently adopted by farmers in Southern Brazil. Differences in crop management included seed and fertilizer rates, irrigation, and pesticide use. The effect of crop management levels on the annual partial global warming potential (pGWP = CH4 x 25 + N2O x 298) ranged from 7,547 to 17,711 kg CO(2)eq ha(-1) and this effect was larger than on the rice grain yield (9,280 to 12,260 kg ha(-1)), resulting in approximately 60 % higher yield-scaled GHG with the high crop management level compared to the current level. Soil CH4 emissions accounted for 98 % of pGWP in the flooded rice season, whereas N2O prevailed during the drained non-rice season (approximate to 65 %). Although it was impossible to relate emissions to any individual input or practice, soil CH4 emissions in the rice season were linearly related to the biomass produced by the rice crop (p<0.01) and by ryegrass in the previous non-rice season (p<0.1), both of which were possibly related to the supply of labile C for methanogenesis. A future increase in rice yield as a result of the adoption of improved crop management may require additional agricultural practices (e.g., intermittent irrigation) to offset the increased GHG emissions.