Static Vented Chamber and Eddy Covariance Methane Flux Comparisons in Mid-South US Rice

Rice cultivation contributes higher amounts of GHG emissions (CO2 and CH4) due to flooded field conditions. A comparison between eddy covariance and static vented flux chamber measurement techniques is presented. Rice GHG emissions originating from plot level chambers may not accurately describe the aggregate effects of all the soil and micrometeorological variations across a production field. Eddy covariance (EC) is a direct, integrated field measurement of field scale trace gases. Flux measurements were collected in NE Arkansas production size rice fields (16 ha, 40 ac) during the 2015 and 2016 production seasons (June-August) in continuous flood (CF) irrigation. The study objectives included quantifying the difference between chamber and EC measurements, and categorizing flux behavior to growth stage and field history. EC daily average emissions correlated with chamber measurements (R2=0.27-0.54) more than average from 09:00-12:00 which encompassed chamber measurement times (R2=0.23-0.32). Maximum methane emissions occurred in the late afternoon from 14:00-18:00 which corresponded with maximum soil heat flux and air temperature. The total emissions from the study fields ranged from 27-117 kg CH4-C ha-1 season-1. The emission profile was lower in 2015, most likely due to higher rainfall and cooler temperatures during the growing season compared to 2016. These findings improve our understanding of GHG emissions at the field scale under typical production practices and validity of chamber and EC flux measurement techniques.