Annual ryegrass（Lolium multiflorum Lam.）, a non-leguminous winter cover crop, has been adopted to absorb soil native N to minimize N loss from an intensive double rice cropping system in southern China, but a little is known about its effects on rice grain yield and rice N use efficiency. In this study, effects of ryegrass on double rice yield, N uptake and use efficiency were measured under different fertilizer N rates. A 3-year（2009–2011） field experiment arranged in a split-plot design was undertaken. Main plots were ryegrass（RG） as a winter cover crop and winter fallow（WF） without weed. Subplots were three N treatments for each rice season： 0（N_0）, 100（N_（100）） and 200 kg N ha–1（N_（200））. In the 3-year experiment, RG reduced grain yield and plant N uptake for early rice（0.4–1.7 t ha–1 for grain yield and 4.6–20.3 kg ha–1 for N uptake） and double rice（0.6–2.0 t ha–1 for grain yield and 6.3–27.0 kg ha–1 for N uptake） when compared with WF among different N rates. Yield and N uptake decrease due to RG was smaller in N_（100） and N_（200） plots than in N_0 plots. The reduction in early rice grain yield in RG plots was associated with decrease number of panicles. Agronomic N use efficiency and fertilizer N recovery efficiency were higher in RG plots than winter fallow for early rice and double rice among different N rates and experimental years. RG tended to have little effect on grain yield, N uptake, agronomic N use efficiency, and fertilizer N recovery efficiency in the late rice season. These results suggest that ryegrass may reduce grain yield while it improves rice N use efficiency in a double rice cropping system.
Chinese milk vetch(CMV) and rice straw(RS)were incorporated into soil to substitute for synthetic N fertilizers and to maintain soil fertility. However, little is known about the integrated impacts of CMV and RS incorporation on CH_4 and N_2O emissions in double-rice cropping systems in southern China. A field experiment was conducted to estimate the integrated impacts of CMV and RS incorporation in the early-and late-rice seasons on CH_4 and N_2O emissions. All treatments received uniform N inputs, 6%–37% of which was replaced by CMV and RS crop residue. CMV and/or RS incorporation produced equivalent or slightly more grain yield, while reducing N2 O emissions by 3%–43%. However, both CMV and RS incorporation increased CH_4 emissions. Annual CH_4 emissions ranged from 321 to 614 kg·hm^(–2)from CMV and RS amendment treatments, which were 1.5–2.9 times higher than that from synthetic N. Compared with single synthetic N fertilizer, incorporation of CMV and/or RS increased GWP and yield-scaled GWP by 45%–164% and45%–153%, respectively. Our results demonstrate CMV and RS amendments replacing N fertilizer, maintained stable yield, mitigated N_2O emission, but enhanced CH_4 emission. Further study is needed on crop residue management in double-cropping rice systems.
Methanotrophs play a vital role in the mitigation of methane emission from soils. However, the influences of cover crops incorporation on paddy soil methanotrophic community structure have not been fully understood. In this study, the impacts of two winter cover crops（Chinese milk vetch（Astragalus sinicus L.） and ryegrass（Lolium multiflorum Lam.）, representing leguminous and non-leguminous cover crops, respectively） on community structure and abundance of methanotrophs were evaluated by using PCR-DGGE（polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis） and real-time PCR technology in a double-rice cropping system from South China. Four treatments were established in a completely randomized block design： 1） double-rice cropping without nitrogen fertilizer application, CK; 2） double-rice cropping with chemical nitrogen fertilizer application（200 kg ha^（–1） urea for entire double-rice season）, CF; 3） Chinese milk vetch cropping followed by double-rice cultivation with Chinese milk vetch incorporation, MV; 4） ryegrass cropping followed by double-rice cultivation with ryegrass incorporation, RG. Results showed that cultivating Chinese milk vetch and ryegrass in fallow season decreased soil bulk density and increased rice yield in different extents by comparison with CK. Additionally, methanotrophic bacterial abundance and community structure changed significantly with rice growth. Methanotrophic bacterial pmo A gene copies in four treatments were higher during late-rice season（3.18×10^7 to 10.28×10^7 copies g^–1 dry soil） by comparison with early-rice season（2.1×10^7 to 9.62×10^7 copies g^–1 dry soil）. Type Ⅰ methanotrophs absolutely predominated during early-rice season. However, the advantage of type Ⅰ methanotrophs kept narrowing during entire double-rice season and both types Ⅰ and Ⅱ methanotrophs dominated at later stage of late-rice.
LIU Jing-naZHU BoYI Li-xiaDAI Hong-cuiXU He-shuiZHANG KaiHU Yue-gaoZENG Zhao-hai
