Abstract
Rice is a major food crop in China, and paddy fields are an important agricultural source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Achieving high yields while reducing GHG emissions is essential for national food security and agricultural carbon mitigation. Water-management during the rice season is widely used to reduce methane (CH 4 ) emissions; however, evidence of its effectiveness, particularly with respect to yield responses and CH 4 emissions before and after transplanting, remains inconsistent. To address this gap, we evaluated two tillage practices before transplanting and two irrigation regimes during the early tillering stage: aerobic tillage with controlled irrigation (AC), aerobic tillage with flooding (AF), conventional tillage with controlled irrigation (CC), and conventional tillage with flooding (CF, control). Field experiments were conducted in a high-latitude rice-growing region in China in 2024 and 2025. Across the two years of study, aerobic tillage significantly increased average rice yield by 6.3%, whereas controlled irrigation caused a slight decline. Compared with the CF, the AC treatment markedly reduced the peak dissolved CH 4 flux after the first drainage event by 66.4%–71.2% and lowered cumulative CH 4 emissions by 42.1%–51.7%. Consequently, AC achieved the lowest global warming potential (GWP) and yield-scaled GWP (GHGI). These reductions were associated with a significantly greater abundance of methanotrophic genes under AC. In addition, aerobic tillage reduced average soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during the tillering stage by 11.8% across two study years. Overall, integrating aerobic tillage with controlled irrigation during the tillering stage provides an effective strategy for reducing CH 4 emissions while maintaining high yield and improving water-use efficiency in rice production.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Aerobic tillage raised average rice yield by 6.3% over two years.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Across the two years of study, aerobic tillage significantly increased average rice yield by 6.3%”
Claim · model-written summary
Controlled irrigation slightly reduced rice yield.
- Taxon
- rice
Oryza sativat0 - Treatment
- controlled irrigatione0
- Outcome
- rice yieldt0
- Direction
- declinee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“controlled irrigation caused a slight decline”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
AC reduced peak dissolved methane flux after first drainage by 66.4%–71.2% versus CF.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- AC treatmente0
- Outcome
- peak dissolved CH 4 fluxe0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 66.4%–71.2%e0
- Comparator
- CFe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared with the CF, the AC treatment markedly reduced the peak dissolved CH 4 flux after the first drainage event by 66.4%–71.2%”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
AC lowered cumulative methane emissions by 42.1%–51.7% versus CF.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- AC treatmente0
- Outcome
- cumulative CH 4 emissionse0
- Direction
- lowerede0
- Value
- 42.1%–51.7%e0
- Comparator
- CFe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared with the CF, the AC treatment markedly reduced the peak dissolved CH 4 flux after the first drainage event by 66.4%–71.2% and lowered cumulative CH 4 emissions by 42.1%–51.7%”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
AC had the lowest global warming potential and yield-scaled global warming potential.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- ACe0
- Outcome
- global warming potential (GWP) and yield-scaled GWP (GHGI)e0
- Direction
- loweste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“AC achieved the lowest global warming potential (GWP) and yield-scaled GWP (GHGI)”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Methanotrophic genes were more abundant under AC.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Treatment
- ACe0
- Outcome
- abundance of methanotrophic genese0
- Direction
- greatere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a significantly greater abundance of methanotrophic genes under AC”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Aerobic tillage lowered mean soil dissolved organic carbon during tillering by 11.8% over two years.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativat0
- Organ / stage
- tillering stagee0
- Treatment
- aerobic tillagee0
- Outcome
- soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC)e0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 11.8%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“aerobic tillage reduced average soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during the tillering stage by 11.8% across two study years”
t0“rice yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend combining aerobic tillage and controlled irrigation during tillering to reduce methane while sustaining yield and improving water use.
- Taxon
- riceOryza sativae0
- Treatment
- integrating aerobic tillage with controlled irrigation during the tillering stagee0
- Outcome
- reducing CH 4 emissions while maintaining high yield and improving water-use efficiencye0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“integrating aerobic tillage with controlled irrigation during the tillering stage provides an effective strategy for reducing CH 4 emissions while maintaining high yield and improving water-use efficiency in rice production”
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See all 1,171 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.