Evaluating the effects of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) on methane and nitrous oxide emissions from a paddy field in Thailand

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) is a water-saving irrigation technique in a paddy field that can reduce the emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). It is being adopted to Asian countries, but different results are reported in literatures on methane, nitrous oxide emission, and rice productivity under AWD. Therefore, the local feasibility needs to be investigated before its adoption by farmers. The current study carried out a 3-year experiment in an acid sulfate paddy field in Prachin Buri, Thailand. During five crops (3 dry and 2 wet seasons), three treatments of water management were compared: continuous flooding (CF), flooding whenever surface water level declined to 15 cm below the soil surface (AWD), and site-specific AWD (AWDS) that weakened the criteria of soil drying (AWDS). Methane and nitrous oxide emissions were measured by a closed chamber method. Rice grain yield did not significantly (p < 0.05) differ among the three treatments. The amount of total water use (irrigation + rainfall) was significantly reduced by AWD (by 42%) and AWDS (by 34%) compared to CF. There was a significant effect of treatment on the seasonal total methane emission; the mean methane emission in AWD was 49% smaller than that in CF. The seasonal total nitrous oxide emission and the global warming potential (GWP) of methane and nitrous oxide did not differ among treatments. The contribution of nitrous oxide to the GWP ranged 39–62% among three treatments in dry season whereas 3–13% in wet season. The results indicate that AWD is feasible in terms of GHG emission mitigation, rice productivity, and water saving in this site, especially in dry season.