Sustainability, Vol. 8, Pages 163: Emission Laws and Influence Factors of Greenhouse Gases in Saline-Alkali Paddy Fields (Sustainability)

The study of greenhouse gas emissions has become a global focus, but few studies have considered saline-alkali paddy fields. Gas samples and saline-alkali soil samples were collected during the green, tillering, booting, heading and grain filling stages. The emission fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O as well as the pH, soil soluble salt, available nitrogen, and soil organic carbon contents were detected to reveal the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission laws and influence factors in saline-alkali paddy fields. Overall, GHG emissions of paddy soil during the growing season increased, then decreased, and then increased again and peaked at booting stage. The emission fluxes of CO2 and CH4 were observed as having two peaks and a single peak, respectively. Both the total amount of GHG emission and its different components of CO2, CH4, and N2O increased with the increasing reclamation period of paddy fields. A positive correlation was found between the respective emission fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O and the available nitrogen and SOC, whereas a negative correlation was revealed between the fluxes of CO2, CH4, and N2O and soil pH and soil conductivity. The study is beneficial to assessing the impact of paddy reclamation on regional greenhouse gas emissions and is relevant to illustrating the mechanisms concerning the carbon cycle in paddy soils.