Alternate wet-drying (AWD) and sulfate fertilization have been considered as effective methods for lowering CH4 emissions from paddy soils. However, there is a clear knowledge gap between field studies that focus on the quantification of emissions and laboratory studies that investigate mechanisms. To elucidate mechanisms of CH4 production and oxidation under field conditions, rice was planted in straw-amended mesocosms with or without sulfate fertilization under continuously flooded conditions (FL) or two wet-dry cycles. CO2 and CH4 concentrations in soil air and their natural C isotope compositions were measured at stem elongation, booting, and flowering stages. CH4 concentration reached 51 mg C L-1 at the flowering stage under FL, while it decreased to 0.04 mg C L-1 under AWD. Relative 13C enrichment in CH4 and depletion in CO2 under AWD indicated CH4 oxidation. Ample organic substrate supply may have reduced competition between sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea, and therefore, it explains the absence of a decrease in CH4 concentrations in sulfate treatments. 13C enrichment in CO2 over time (6 and 7‰ with and without sulfate fertilizers, respectively) under FL indicates continuous contribution of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis to CH4 production with ongoing rice growth. Overall, AWD could more efficiently reduce CH4 production than sulfate fertilization in rice straw-amended paddy soils.
Keywords: CO2; acetoclastic methanogenesis; hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis; methanogenic archaea; sulfate-reducing bacteria.