Rewetting of drained peatlands has been recommended to reduce CO₂ emissions and to restore the carbon sink function of peatlands. Recently, the combination of rewetting and biomass production (paludiculture) has gained interest as a possible land use option in peatlands for obtaining such benefits of lower CO₂ emissions without losing agricultural land. This study quantified the carbon balance (CO₂, CH₄ and harvested biomass C) of rewetted and drained peat soils under intensively managed reed canary grass (RCG) cultivation. Mesocosms were maintained at five different groundwater levels (GWLs), that is 0, 10, 20 cm below the soil surface, representing rewetted peat soils, and 30 and 40 cm below the soil surface, representing drained peat soils. Net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO₂ and CH₄ emissions was measured during the growing period of RCG (May to September) using transparent and opaque closed chamber methods. The average dry biomass yield was significantly lower from rewetted peat soils (12 Mg ha⁻¹) than drained peat soils (15 Mg ha⁻¹). Also, CO₂ fluxes of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) from rewetted peat soils were significantly lower than from drained peat soils, but net uptake of CO₂ was higher from rewetted peat soils. Cumulative CH₄ emissions were negligible (0.01 g CH₄ m⁻²) from drained peat soils but were significantly higher (4.9 g CH₄ m⁻²) from rewetted peat soils during measurement period (01 May–15 September 2013). The extrapolated annual C balance was 0.03 and 0.68 kg C m⁻² from rewetted and drained peat soils, respectively, indicating that rewetting and paludiculture can reduce the loss of carbon from peatlands.

Improved irrigation management is identified as a potential mitigation option for methane (CH₄) emissions from rice (Oryza sativa). Furrow-irrigated rice (FR), an alternative method to grow rice, is increasingly adopted in the Mid-South U.S. However, FR may provide a potential risk to yield performance and higher emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O). This study quantified the grain yields, CH₄ and N₂O emissions from three different water management practices in rice: multiple-inlet rice irrigation (MIRI), FR, and FR with cereal rye (Secale cereale) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) as preceding winter cover crops (FRCC). CH₄ and N₂O fluxes were measured from May to September 2019 using a static chamber technique. Grain yield from FR (11.8 Mg ha⁻¹) and MIRI (12.0 Mg ha⁻¹) was similar, and significantly higher than FRCC (8.5 Mg ha⁻¹). FR and FRCC drastically reduced CH₄ emissions compared to MIRI. Total seasonal CH₄ emissions decreased in the order of 44 > 11 > 3 kg CH₄-C ha⁻¹ from MIRI, FR, and FRCC, respectively. Cumulative seasonal N₂O emissions were low from MIRI (0.1 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹) but significantly higher from FR (4.4 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹) and FRCC (3.0 kg N₂O-N ha⁻¹). However, there was no net difference in global warming potential among FR, FRCC and MIRI. These results suggest that the increased N₂O flux from furrow-irrigated rice may not greatly detract from the potential benefits that furrow-irrigation offers rice producers.

Cultivation of bioenergy crops in rewetted peatland (paludiculture) is considered as a possible land use option to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, bioenergy crops like reed canary grass (RCG) can have a complex influence on GHG fluxes. Here we determined the effect of RCG cultivation on GHG emission from peatland rewetted to various extents. Mesocosms were manipulated to three different ground water levels (GWLs), i.e. 0, −10 and −20 cm below the soil surface in a controlled semi-field facility. Emissions of CO2 (ecosystem respiration, ER), CH4 and N2O from mesocosms with RCG and bare soil were measured at weekly to fortnightly intervals with static chamber techniques for a period of 1 year. Cultivation of RCG increased both ER and CH4 emissions, but decreased the N2O emissions. The presence of RCG gave rise to 69, 75 and 85% of total ER at −20, −10 and 0 cm GWL, respectively. However, this difference was due to decreased soil respiration at the rising GWL as the plant-derived CO2 flux was similar at all three GWLs. For methane, 70–95% of the total emission was due to presence of RCG, with the highest contribution at −20 cm GWL. In contrast, cultivation of RCG decreased N2O emission by 33–86% with the major reductions at −10 and −20 cm GWL. In terms of global warming potential, the increase in CH4 emissions due to RCG cultivation was more than offset by the decrease in N2O emissions at −10 and −20 cm GWL; at 0 cm GWL the CH4 emissions was offset only by 23%. CO2 emissions from ER were obviously the dominant RCG-derived GHG flux, but above-ground biomass yields, and preliminary measurements of gross photosynthetic production, showed that ER could be more than balanced due to the photosynthetic uptake of CO2 by RCG. Our results support that RCG cultivation could be a good land use option in terms of mitigating GHG emission from rewetted peatlands, potentially turning these ecosystems into a sink of atmospheric CO2.