Greenhouse gas emissions during rice crop year affected by management of rice straw and ryegrass

ABSTRACT One of the challenges in rice areas is the sustainable post-harvest system, which involves using rice straw management and cover crop species. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the emission of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) with the use of different post-harvest management of rice straw as well as with the combined use of ryegrass. A field experiment was conducted during the 2016 off-season and 2016/17 rice crop season with different post-harvest rice straw management: maintaining rice straw on the soil surface (No-tillage); incorporating straw into dry soil with a disc (Disc); incorporating straw into flooded soil with a roller crimper (Roller Crimper); maintaining rice straw on the soil surface with subsequent rolling of the soil with a roller (Roller). In each straw management, treatments with and without ryegrass were established. The results demonstrate that incorporating rice straw in flooded soil with a roller crimper increases CH4 emissions in the off-season, and used in combination with ryegrass, proved to be the most significant contributor to partial global warming potential. Most annual N2O emissions occur in the off-season for all management treatments, especially for the no-tillage treatment, which showed increased emissions when combined with the use of ryegrass. However, as global warming potential is influenced mainly by emissions of CH4, the no-tillage system showed the best mitigation potential on greenhouse gas emissions.