Methane Production in Rice

Paddies
Brooke Troxell
Rice

3rd highest world-wide production

1/5 of human calorie consumption
Domesticated 8,200-13,500 years ago
Fields flooded to deter weeds and vermin during germination
87% of world rice cultivated in Asia
Rice cultivation uses almost 1/3 of Earths fresh water
Methane (CH4)

Rice production accounts for 9-19% worldwide methane

production
Methane has a GWP of 25 times that of carbon dioxide
Biotic production of methane requires an environment with
a very specific redox potential, pH, and ammonia
Concentration
Gas vascular system
Oxidized nitrogen species inhibit

https://www1.ethz.ch/ibp/research/environmentalmicrobiology/research/Wetlands
Different behaviour of methanogenic archaea
and Thaumarchaeota in rice field microcosms
Ke et al. (2014)

Thaumarchaeota
Methanogens
Euryarchaeota
Methanobacteriale
Methanobacteriaceae
Methanosarcinaceae
Methanocellales
Methanosaetaceae
Methanomicrobiales
 Chinese Riche Research Institute in
Hangzhou

o Investigate gene abundance and composition of Archaea

o PCR
o T-RFLP
o Cloning/sequencing 16S rRNA
o amoA gene
o mcrA gene
o Nitrogen treatment
o Soil and roots were sampled at day 50, 70, and 90
Results

Soil
mrcA increase
amoA constant
Roots
mrcA increase
amoA increase
Ratio of mcrA:amoA increased 2-7x during
the season in all soil compartments
Initially amoA was higher than mcrA, but by the end of the season mcrA outnumbered by a factor of
up to 3.5
Increased N treatment enhanced the relative abundance of Thaumarchaeota
References

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