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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. D16, 4505, doi:10.1029/2002JD003182, 2003

Methane emission from rice fields in mainland China: Amount and seasonal and spatial distribution

Xiaoyuan Yan

Frontier Research System for Global Change, Yokohama, Japan


Zucong Cai

Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China


Toshimasa Ohara

Frontier Research System for Global Change, Yokohama, Japan


Hajime Akimoto

Frontier Research System for Global Change, Yokohama, Japan


Abstract

China is the largest rice producer in the world. Methane (CH4) emission from its rice fields has been widely measured since the late 1980s. This study collected the results of available field research, totaling 204 season-treatment measurements conducted on 23 sites. Analysis of these data shows that input of organic material, such as green manure, animal waste, and crop straw, increases CH4 emission by a factor of 2. Average CH4 flux from intermittently irrigated rice fields is 53% of that from continuously flooded rice fields; and average CH4 emission flux from late rice fields is 1.6 and 2.3 times greater than flux from early and single rice fields, respectively. There are regional differences in emission factors and a trend of decreasing emission from south to north. On the basis of earlier estimates of CH4 emission from Chinese rice fields, and recent reports on the use of crop residue and green manure, it is presumed that half of the rice fields in China receive organic input. From the frequency of various water management events indicated in the surveyed field experiments, as well as from specific statements in individual reports, it is presumed that 2/3 of irrigated rice fields have been intermittently flooded. On the basis of these assumptions, the region-specific emission factors, and 1995 data on rice cultivation area, CH4 emission from growing-season rice fields in Mainland China was estimated to be 7.67 Tg yr−1, ranging from 5.82 to 9.57 Tg yr−1, due to uncertainties in the areas receiving organic inputs, and intermittent irrigation. Generalized seasonal flux patterns were developed for early, late, and single rice. Monthly distributions of emission were estimated from these patterns and rice calendars. The highest emission rate occurred in August. Spatially, emission hot spots included the plains of Dongting Lake in Hunan Province, Boyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, the delta region of Qiantang River in Zhejiang Province, and the Sichuan Basin. Nearly 90% of all Mainland China CH4 emission occurred between 23°N and 33°N.

Received 18 November 2002; accepted 2 May 2003; published 22 August 2003.

Index Terms: 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry; 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805).

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Citation: Yan, X., Z. Cai, T. Ohara, and H. Akimoto (2003), Methane emission from rice fields in mainland China: Amount and seasonal and spatial distribution, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D16), 4505, doi:10.1029/2002JD003182.