Methane Emissions and Microbial Communities as Influenced by Dual Cropping of Azolla along with Early Rice.

ABSTRACT: Azolla caroliniana Willd. is widely used as a green manure accompanying rice, but its ecological importance remains unclear, except for its ability to fix nitrogen in association with cyanobacteria. To investigate the impacts of Azolla cultivation on methane emissions and environmental variables in paddy fields, we performed this study on the plain of Dongting Lake, China, in 2014. The results showed that the dual cropping of Azolla significantly suppressed the methane emissions from paddies, likely due to the increase in redox potential in the root region and dissolved oxygen concentration at the soil-water interface. Furthermore, the floodwater pH decreased in association with Azolla cultivation, which is also a factor significantly correlated with the decrease in methane emissions. An i

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5240575 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature