Exploring the Impact of Alternate Wetting and Drying and the System of Rice Intensification on Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review of Rice Cultivation Practices

A new article in Agronomy shows that there doesn’t need to be a trade-off between food security and climate change mitigation. A review of field studies found that SRI is associated with both reduced GHG emissions and higher yield compared with conventional flooded rice farming. The authors, James Dahlgreen and Adam Parr, found that the mean reduction in emissions per kilogram of rice produced was 48% when SRI is compared with conventional practices. The yield benefits of SRI compounded the already significant reduction in emissions associated with alternate wetting and drying (AWD). The authors recommend that farmers should be encouraged to adopt SRI practices given the dual benefits for food security and climate change mitigation. They also cited the other benefits of SRI, and call for more research into the potentially even more significant benefits of soil carbon sequestration with SRI.

 

Read More: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/2/378