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FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1996

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
METHANE EMISSIONS

Item #d96jun13

"Generation of Methane from Paddy Fields and Cattle in India and Its Reduction at Source," T.K. Bandyopadhyay (Pollut. Control Div., Ministry of Environ., CGO Complex, Lodi Rd., New Delhi 110003, India), P. Goyal, M.P. Singh, Atmos. Environ., 30(14), 2569-2574, July 1996.

Quantifies Indian methane emissions from these two sources. Controlling irrigation water is the key to controlling emissions from rice paddies: they are reduced drastically if the field is dry for a few days at the end of tillering. Several approaches for reducing emissions from livestock are also given.

Item #d96jun14

"Release of Entrapped Methane from Wetland Rice Fields upon Soil Drying," H.A.C. Denier van der Gon (Dept. Soil Sci., Agricultural, Univ. Wageningen, POB 37, 6700 AA Wageningen, Neth.), N. van Breemen et al., Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 10(1), 1-7, Mar. 1996.

Emissions from Philippine rice paddies fertilized with either urea or green manure were monitored for several weeks after harvesting the dry and wet season crops of 1992. Flooded fields were allowed to dry by evaporation, and a steep rise of emissions was observed in all plots just after the soil fell dry. Results suggest that about 10% of the emissions of a full rice crop cycle is released during the drying of fields, and must be included in estimates of total emissions from rice agriculture.

Item #d96jun15

"Factors Affecting Methane Emission from Rice Fields," H.U. Neue (Intl. Rice Res. Inst., POB 933, Manila 1099, Philippines), R. Wassmann et al., Atmos. Environ., 30(10/11), 1751-1754, May 1996.

Factors determining methane emissions from individual sites must be well known in order to develop effective mitigation options which do not negate gains in rice production. This paper reports field results concerning the influence on emissions of a number of cultural practices, which may account for 20% of overall seasonal emissions.

Item #d96jun16

"Effect of Land Use on the Rate of Methane Uptake by Surface Soils in Northern Europe," K.E. Dobbie (Soils Dept., SAC, Sch. Agric., W. Mains Rd., Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK), K.A. Smith et al., ibid., 30(7), 1005-1011, Apr. 1996.

Studies the effect of historical land use change on methane uptake by aerobic soils through measurements on paired (forest and agricultural) sites in three countries. The mean reduction in uptake rates resulting from conversion to agriculture is 60%, higher than the amount reported for the effect of nitrogen inputs through fertilization or deposition.

Item #d96jun17

"Landfills as Atmospheric Methane Sources and Sinks," J. Bogner (Argonne Natl. Lab., Argonne IL 60439), K. Spokas et al., Chemosphere, 31(9), 4119-4130, Nov. 1995.

Describes controlled field measurements of methane emissions at sites in Illinois and California using a closed-chamber technique. Surprisingly, at the Illinois site in spring, the landfill surface was consuming atmospheric methane rather than emitting landfill methane. Three independent methods confirmed this result, which has profound implications for revision of landfill contributions to global methane budgets, and suggests it should be possible to develop mitigation strategies incorporating a combination of engineered and natural methanotrophic controls.

Item #d96jun18

"Methane Emission from Paddy Soils Fertilized with Cowdung and Farmyard Manure," A. Banik, M. Sen (Dept. Botany, Univ. Kalyani, Kalyani 741235, India), S.P. Sen, ibid., 30(6), 1193-1208, Mar. 1995.

Field results show that methanogens present in cowdung and farmyard manure contribute significantly to methane production in soil. Compared to unamended soil, farmyard manure increased emissions through rice plants by about 80% over the entire growth period.

Item #d96jun19

"Methane Oxidation in Temperate Soils: Effects of Land Use and the Chemical Form of Nitrogen Fertilizer," T.W. Wilson (Dept. Soil Sci., Rothamsted Experiment. Sta., Harpenden, Herts AL5 2JQ, UK), ibid., 539-546, Feb. 1995.

Results from long-term experimental sites show that land use and agricultural management play important roles in mediating the sink strength of aerobic soils for methane. Application of ammonium-N fertilizer to grassland plots over 138 years caused a significant decrease in the soil sink strength, but application of nitrate-N did not. Results are discussed in relation to land use and microbial ecology.