Reducing greenhouse gas emission by alternation of the upland crop rotation in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Abstract

Agricultural production is one of the main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing 50% and 60% of CH4 and N2O emissions, respectively. This study evaluated the rice yield and components, the CH4 and N2O emissions and the global warming potential between the triple rice (R-R-R) and sesame-rice rotation (S-R-R) systems in Can Tho city, Vietnam. The experiments were conducted in 3 cropping seasons: Spring-Summer 2016, Summer-Autumn 2016, and Winter-Spring 2016-2017. The results showed that there was no significant difference in yield components and grain yield between triple rice and rotation systems. The application of sesame rotation in rice-based could reduce the CH4 and N2O emission by 30.5% and 18.7%, respectively. Global warming potential in the S-R-R rotation was 9860 kg CO2e/ha, significantly lower than the R-R-R rotation (12410 kg CO2e/ha) by 20.6%. These results show that the S-R-R rotation has the potential to mitigate GHG emissions, especially CH4, which contributes to a large amount of emissions in rice cultivation.

Keywords

• global warming potential
• methane
• nitrous oxide
• oryza sativa l.
• rotation
• triple rice