Management of Paddy Soil towards Low Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sustainable Rice Production in the Changing Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Climate change is a vital environmental issue for the twenty-first century, which may significantly affect rice productivity and accelerate greenhouse gas emissions from paddy ecosystem , which is of great environmental concern which is of great environmental concern. Methane (CH 4) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) are the most important greenhouse gases due to their radiative effects as well as global warming potentials (GWPs). CH 4 and N 2 O gases are simultaneously emitted from rice fields to the atmosphere due to their favorable production, consumption, and transport systems. The intensive rice farming system has been creating excessive pressure on rice fields to produce more rice for the expanding world population, thereby deteriorating soil fertility status and rice paddy ecosystem balance by stimulating more CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O fluxes to the atmosphere. The extreme climatic variables such as high light intensity, high water vapor or relative humidity, high temperature, and drought stress may badly suppress beneficial microbial activity, soil nutrients, and water availability to rice plant; eventually, rice yield may be decreased drastically, and simultaneously, greenhouse gas emissions could be increased significantly. In this situation, conservation tillage, water saving irrigation technique such as alternate wetting and drying, soil amendments with biochar, vermicompost, azolla-cyanobacterial mixture, recommended silicate slag, and phospho-gypsum with minimum NPKSZn fertilizer (IPNS) should be introduced to the field level farmers for sustainable rice production and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Figure 1. (a) Schematic diagram of methane production, oxidation, and emission from rice paddy field and (b) schematic diagram of N 2 O, NO, and N 2 emissions from rice paddy field.