Differences in CH4 oxidation and pathways of production between rice cultivars deduced from measurements of CH4 flux and δ13C of CH4 and CO2

Abstract

We report measurements of CH4 flux and δ13C and δD values of emitted CH4 and sediment CH4 and CO2 during the 1995 rice growing season in Beaumont, Texas. Four rice plant cultivars, Lemont, Mars, Cypress, and Della, and an unplanted plot were studied to provide possible explanations for the differences in CH4 emissions between cultivars. Using the mesured isotope values, along with data of CH4 and CO2 concentrations and other ecosystem data, we determined differences between cultivars in the processes of oxidation and production throughout the growing season. For instance, rhizospheric CH4 oxidation increased as the season progressed in both Mars and Lemont cultivars. Late in the season, however, 71±10% of CH4 produced in the Mars plot was oxidized compared to only 39±10% in the Lemont plot. The contribution of acetate fermentation to methanogenesis at specific times during the season was calculated using measured isotopic values and assuming identical isotopic fractionation factors in methanogenic pathways for the cultivars. In these calculations a range of values for the contribution to CH4 production from acetate fermentation and CO2 reduction with H2 was estimated by considering different fractionation factors for the methanogenic CO2 reduction pathway and the possibility of a 10% contribution to CH4 production from acetate produced by homoacetogenesis. In general, a steady increase in the CH4 portion produced by acetate fermentation was noted in the Lemont cultivar, while an increase followed by a decrease near the end of the season was observed for the Mars cultivar.