Belowground plant allocation regulates rice methane emissions from degraded peat soils

Sriskandarajah, Nijanthini; Wüst-Galley, Chloé; Heller, Sandra; Leifeld, Jens; Määttä, Tiia; Ouyang, Zutao; Runkle, Benjamin R. K.; Schiedung, Marcus; Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Tumber-Dávila, Shersingh Joseph; Malhotra, Avni

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-64616-1

Belowground plant allocation regulates rice methane emissions from degraded peat soils

Journal Article · Tue Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-64616-1· OSTI ID:2476241

Sriskandarajah, Nijanthini ^[1]; Wüst-Galley, Chloé ^[2]; Heller, Sandra ^[2]; ^[2]; Määttä, Tiia ^[1]; Ouyang, Zutao ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[5]; ^[1]; Tumber-Dávila, Shersingh Joseph ^[6]; ^[7]

Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)
Agroscope (Switzerland)
Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR (United States)
Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland); Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture (Germany)
Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States); Harvard Univ., Petersham, MA (United States). Harvard Forest
Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Carbon-rich peat soils have been drained and used extensively for agriculture throughout human history, leading to significant losses of their soil carbon. One solution for rewetting degraded peat is wet crop cultivation. Crops such as rice, which can grow in water-saturated conditions, could enable agricultural production to be maintained whilst reducing CO₂ and N₂O emissions from peat. However, wet rice cultivation can release considerable methane (CH₄). Water table and soil management strategies may enhance rice yield and minimize CH₄ emissions, but they also influence plant biomass allocation strategies. It remains unclear how water and soil management influences rice allocation strategies and how changing plant allocation and associated traits, particularly belowground, influence CH₄-related processes. We examined belowground biomass (BGB), aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground:aboveground ratio (BGB:ABG), and a range of root traits (root length, root diameter, root volume, root area, and specific root length) under different soil and water treatments; and evaluated plant trait linkages to CH₄. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) was grown for six months in field mesocosms under high (saturated) or low water table treatments, and in either degraded peat soil or degraded peat covered with mineral soil. We found that BGB and BGB:AGB were lowest in water saturated conditions where mineral soil had been added to the peat, and highest in low-water table peat soils. Furthermore, CH₄ and BGB were positively related, with BGB explaining 60% of the variation in CH₄ but only under low water table conditions. Our results suggest that a mix of low water table and mineral soil addition could minimize belowground plant allocation in rice, which could further lower CH₄ likely because root-derived carbon is a key substrate for methanogenesis. Minimizing root allocation, in conjunction with water and soil management, could be explored as a strategy for lowering CH₄ emissions from wet rice cultivation in degraded peatlands.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2476241

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2471630

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--199765

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 14; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Science & Technology - Other Topics
carbon cycle
degraded peatland
ecosystem ecology
methane
root traits
wetlands ecology

Belowground plant allocation regulates rice methane emissions from degraded peat soils

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