Field Crop 2024, Vol.7, No.3, 145-157 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 148 Figure 1 Proportion of service types (Adopted from Arunrat and Sereenonchai, 2022) Image caption: (a) rice-fish co-culture system, (b) rice monoculture system (Adopted from Arunrat and Sereenonchai, 2022) 4 Comparative Analysis of Cultivation Systems 4.1 Water consumption Water consumption varies significantly across different rice cultivation systems. Lowland rice fields have the highest water footprint (WF) at 1,701.6 m³ per ton, followed by terraced rice (1,422.1 m³ per ton) and upland rice (1,283.2 m³ per ton) (Toolkiattiwong et al., 2023). Water-saving irrigation techniques, such as alternate wetting and drying (AWD), have been shown to reduce water use by 15% compared to continuous flooding (Islam et al., 2020). These methods not only conserve water but also impact greenhouse gas emissions and crop yields. 4.2 Soil degradation and erosion Soil degradation and erosion are critical issues in rice cultivation. Terraced rice fields, while effective in reducing erosion, have a higher carbon footprint (CF) compared to upland and lowland systems. Reduced tillage practices can mitigate soil degradation by maintaining soil structure and organic matter content, which is beneficial for long-term soil health (Islam et al., 2020). 4.3 Methane and nitrous oxide emissions Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are major concerns in rice cultivation. Continuous flooding is associated with high CH4 emissions, while intermittent flooding increases N2O emissions significantly. For instance, N2O emissions from intermittently flooded rice fields can be 30-45 times higher than those from continuously flooded fields (Kritee et al., 2018). However, non-continuous flooding practices can reduce the global warming potential (GWP) by 44% (Jiang et al., 2019). The use of modified nitrogen fertilizers and water-saving irrigation can further reduce CH4 emissions by up to 31% and increase N2O emissions by 42%-52% (Li et al., 2018).
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