A. Holzapfel-Pschorn

Bio: A. Holzapfel-Pschorn is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Paddy field & Diurnal temperature variation. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 1265 citations.

A 3-year continuous record on the influence of daytime, season, and fertilizer treatment on methane emission rates from an Italian rice paddy

Abstract: CH4 emission rates have been measured in an Italian rice paddy between 1984 and 1986, covering three vegetation periods. For these measurements a fully automated, computerized sampling and analyzing system was developed which allowed the simultaneous determination of CH4 emission rates at 16 different field plots. CH4 emission rates showed strong diurnal and seasonal variations. Diurnal changes correlated with changes in soil temperature. During the season, CH4 emission rates showed a first maximum in May–June before tillering and a second maximum in July during the reproductive stage of the rice plants. In 1985 and 1986 two maxima were observed during summer in addition to the first maximum in the rate of CH4 emission during spring. Application of mineral and/or organic fertilizer strongly influenced the CH4 emission rates, depending on the type, rate, and mode of fertilizer application. Thus the rates decreased by at most 40% and 60% after fertilization by deep incorporation with 200 kg N/ha urea and 200 kg N/ha ammonium sulfate, respectively. Application of 200 kg N/ha calcium cyanamide led to a reduction of the first maximum of CH4 emission but caused the second maximum to increase, the overall result being that the seasonally averaged CH4 emission rate was comparable to that observed in unfertilized fields. Application of rice straw at a rate of 12 t/ha enhanced the rate of CH4 emission by a factor of 2 compared with the control. Higher application rates of rice straw did not cause a further increase in CH4 emission. The complete records of CH4 emissions over three vegetation periods indicate an average seasonal CH4 emission rate from unfertilized fields of 0.28 g CH4/m2 d, with a range of 0.16–0.38 g CH4/m2 d. Based on this value and applying the observed temperature dependence of the CH4 emission rates, the global annual CH4 emission from rice paddies is estimated to be in the range of 50–150 Tg, with a likely average of 100 Tg. This figure represents between 19% and 25% of the global CH4 emission, indicating that rice paddies are one of the most important individual sources of atmospheric CH4.

Effects of vegetation on the emission of methane from submerged paddy soil

Abstract: Methane emission rates from rice-vegetated paddy fields followed a seasonal pattern different to that of weed-covered or unvegetated fields. Presence of rice plants stimulated the emission of CH4 both in the laboratory and in the field. In unvegetated paddy fields CH4 was emitted almost exclusively by ebullition. By contrast, in rice-vegetated fields more than 90% of the CH4 emission was due to plant-mediated transport. Rice plants stimulated methanogenesis in the submerged soil, but also enhanced the CH4 oxidation rates within the rhizosphere so that only 23% of the produced CH4 was emitted. Gas bubbles in vegetated paddy soils contained lower CH4 mixing ratios than in unvegetated fiels. Weed plants were also efficient in mediating gas exchnage between submerged soil and atmosphere, but did not stimulate methanogenesis. Weed plants caused a relatively high redox potential in the submerged soil so that 95% of the produced CH4 was oxidized and did not reach the atmosphere. The emission of CH4 was stimulated, however, when the cultures were incubated under gas atmospheres containing acetylene or consisting of O2-free nitrogen.

Methane emission from rice paddies

Abstract: Methane release rates from rice paddies have been measured in Andalusia, Spain, during almost a complete vegetation period in 1982 using the static box system. The release rates ranged between 2 and 14 mg/m2/h and exhibited a strong seasonal variation with low values during the tillering stage and shortly before harvest, while maximum values were observed at the end of the flowering stage. The CH4 release rate, averaged over the complete vegetation period, accounted for 4 mg/m2/h which results in a worldwide CH4 emission from rice paddies of 35–59×1012 g/yr if we assume that the observed CH4 release rates are representative of global conditions. The CH4 release rates showed diurnal variations with higher values late in the afternoon which were most likely caused by temperature variations within the upper layers of the paddy soils. Approximately 95% of the CH4 emitted into the atmosphere by rice paddies was due to transport through the rice plants. Transport by bubbles or diffusion through the paddy water was of minor importance. Incubation experiments showed that CH4 was neither produced nor consumed in the paddy water. The relase of CH4 from rice paddies caused a diurnal variation of CH4 in ambient air within the rice-growing area with maximum values of up to 2.3 ppmv during the early morning, compared to average daytime values of 1.75 ppmv.

Biogeochemical aspects of atmospheric methane

Abstract: Methane is the most abundant organic chemical in Earth's atmosphere, and its concentration is increasing with time, as a variety of independent measurements have shown. Photochemical reactions oxidize methane in the atmosphere; through these reactions, methane exerts strong influence over the chemistry of the troposphere and the stratosphere and many species including ozone, hydroxyl radicals, and carbon monoxide. Also, through its infrared absorption spectrum, methane is an important greenhouse gas in the climate system. We describe and enumerate key roles and reactions. Then we focus on two kinds of methane production: microbial and thermogenic. Microbial methanogenesis is described, and key organisms and substrates are identified along with their properties and habitats. Microbial methane oxidation limits the release of methane from certain methanogenic areas. Both aerobic and anaerobic oxidation are described here along with methods to measure rates of methane production and oxidation experimentally. Indicators of the origin of methane, including C and H isotopes, are reviewed. We identify and evaluate several constraints on the budget of atmospheric methane, its sources, sinks and residence time. From these constraints and other data on sources and sinks we construct a list of sources and sinks, identities, and sizes. The quasi-steady state (defined in the text) annual source (or sink) totals about 310(±60) × 1012 mol (500(±95) × 1012 g), but there are many remaining uncertainties in source and sink sizes and several types of data that could lead to stronger constraints and revised estimates in the future. It is particularly difficult to identify enough sources of radiocarbon-free methane.

Good practice guidance and uncertainty management in national greenhouse gas inventories

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to support the development of so-called good practice guidelines for the estimation of methane (CH 4) emissions from solid waste (SW) disposal for national greenhouse gas inventories. The paper reviews and discusses the emission estimation methods given in the IPCC 1996 Revised Guidelines (IPCC Guidelines), and uncertainty and quality management issues related to the emission estimation. At solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) the degradable organic carbon in waste is decomposed by bacteria under anaerobic conditions into methane (CH 4) and other compounds. The CH 4 emissions from SWDS are important contributors of global anthropogenic CH 4 emissions. The IPCC Guidelines give two methods for estimation CH 4 emissions from solid waste disposal. The IPCC default method is a simple mass balance calculation which estimates the amount of CH 4 emitted from the SWDS assuming that all CH 4 is released the same year the waste is disposed of. The other method outlined in the IPCC Guidelines is the so-called First Order Decay (FOD) method. The FOD method takes the time factors of the degradation process into account, and produces annual emission estimates that reflect this process, which can take years, even decades. The estimates on annual emissions produced by the two methods are therefore not comparable. The FOD method produces better estimates on annual emissions, whereas the IPCC default method has merits e.g. in studies comparing the potential to reduce the CH 4 emissions by alternative waste treatment methods. The use of the IPCC default method and FOD method require as input annual SW disposal data including information on the composition of the waste and on the conditions at the SWDS. The IPCC default method requires this data only for the inventory years, whereas the FOD method requires data for also the past 20-25 or more years. In addition, the rate of degradation for waste disposed at SWDS needs to be determined in the FOD method. The IPCC Guidelines contain default values for most of the data needed in the use of the default method, whereas the guidance and default values needed in the use of the FOD method are insufficient. The uncertainties in the emission estimates produced by both the IPCC method and the FOD method are large in most countries. Even few industrialised countries have good SW disposal data based on weighing of amounts disposed and frequent sampling to determine the composition …

Three‐dimensional model synthesis of the global methane cycle

Abstract: The geographic and seasonal emission distributions of the major sources and sinks of atmospheric methane were compiled using methane flux measurements and energy and agricultural statistics in conjunction with global digital data bases of land surface characteristics and anthropogenic activities. Chemical destruction of methane in the atmosphere was calculated using three-dimensional OH fields every 5 days taken from Spivakovsky et al. (1990a, b). The signatures of each of the sources and sinks in the atmosphere were simulated using a global three-dimensional tracer transport model. Candidate methane budget scenarios were constructed according to mass balance of methane and its carbon isotopes. The verisimilitude of the scenarios was tested by their ability to reproduce the meridional gradient and seasonal variations of methane observed in the atmosphere. Constraints imposed by all the atmospheric observations are satisfied simultaneously by several budget scenarios. A preferred budget comprises annual destruction rates of 450 Tg by OH oxidation and 10 Tg by soil absorption and annual emissions of 80 Tg from fossil sources, 80 Tg from domestic animals, and 35 Tg from wetlands and tundra poleward of 50°N. Emissions from landfills, tropical swamps, rice fields, biomass burning, and termites total 295 Tg; however, the individual contributions of these terms cannot be determined uniquely because of the lack of measurements of direct fluxes and of atmospheric methane variations in regions where these sources are concentrated.