Various issues related to oil palm production, such as biodiversity, drought, water scarcity, and water and soil resource exploitation, have become major challenges for environmental sustainability. The water footprint method indicates that the quantity of water used by plants to produce one biomass product could become a parameter to assess the environmental sustainability for a plantation. The objective of this study is to calculate the water footprint of oil palm on a temporal scale based on root water uptake with a specific climate condition under different crop age and soil type conditions, as a means to assess environmental sustainability. The research was conducted in Pundu village, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The methodology adopted in carrying out this study consisted of monitoring soil moisture, rainfall, and the water table, and estimating reference evapotranspiration (ETo), root water uptake, and the oil palm water footprint. Based on the study, it was shown that the oil palm water usage in the observation area varies with different crop ages and soil types from 3.07–3.73 mm/day, with the highest contribution of oil palm water usage was in the first root zone which correlates to the root density distribution. The total water footprint values obtained were between 0.56 and 1.14 m³/kg for various plant ages and soil types. This study also found that the source of green water from rainfall on the upper oil palm root zone delivers the highest contribution to oil palm root water uptake than the blue water from groundwater on the bottom layer root zone.

This study aimed at understanding whether and how long-term organic rice farming affects soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks and their mineralization potentials in submerged rice paddies in Tochigi, Japan. An incubation experiment was carried out to assess the impacts of internal nutrient cycling after organic farming (OF) for 4–5 years (4OF), 8–9 years (8OF), and 12 years (12OF), compared with a conventional rice field (CF). Soil samples were collected at 0–15 cm and 15–20 cm in flooded rice fields after harvest in October 2013. pH and bulk density at 0–15 cm were significantly lower in 12OF fields than in CF fields (by 0.22 unit pH and 17.5%, respectively). Compared with CF, 12OF fields showed significant differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN), but 4OF and 8OF fields did not. In 8OF fields, the C decomposition (Co) and N mineralization (No) potentials were significantly higher (by 34.0% and 35.6%, respectively, at 0–15 cm, and by 67.1% and 24.5% at 15–20 cm) than in CF fields. Similarly, in 8OF fields at 0–15 cm, the Co:SOC and No:TN ratios were 19.8% and 23.2% higher, respectively, than in CF fields. Co, No, Co:SOC, and No:TN in 12OF fields were higher than those in CF fields, demonstrating the effects of prolonged organic rice farming. Additionally, in 12OF fields, C and N stocks were significantly higher (by 15.5% and 17.2%, respectively, at 0–15 cm, and by 4.8% and 12.1% at 15–20 cm) than in CF fields. Our findings suggest that long-term organic rice farming increases soil C and N stocks as well as C and N mineralization in Japanese Andosols.

Different weeding frequencies (WFs)―0WF, 2WF, 4WF, 6WF, and 8WF―were adopted in an organic rice field to investigate their influence on weed types, rice and weed biomass, rice tiller and weed number, N concentration, and N uptake. The study field was located in Tsuruoka, Yamagata, Japan. Rice (cv. Sasanishiki) was planted from May to September 2019, and all weeding events were carried out until 49 days after transplantation (DAT) using a rotary weeder. Rice and weed samples were collected at 60, 88, and 110 DAT. Echinochloa crus-galli (E. crus-galli), Schoenoplectus juncoides, and Monochoria vaginalis (Burm. f.) were the most commonly found weeds. High weed diversity was observed at both 6WF and 8WF, E. crus-galli was the dominant weed at 0WF. Compared to 0WF, 2WF displayed a significantly decreased weed biomass. However, at 8WF, the weed biomass was reduced by 79.0%, the rice biomass was increased by 277%, and the rice tiller number was almost three times higher than that at 0WF and 110 DAT. Compared to 0WF, a significantly increased rice N uptake was observed at 4WF, and rice N uptakes achieved at 6WF and 8WF were two and four times higher than those at 0WF, respectively. Higher weeding frequencies provide notable benefits in suppressing weeds and supporting rice growth, especially in N uptake competition with weeds.

Foxtail (Alopecurus aequalis) and milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus) are typical winter weeds grown in single-cropping rice fields during the fallow season in central Japan. These winter weeds are generally incorporated into the soil as green manure during plowing, and before rice transplanting, to improve soil fertility and rice yield. To understand the carbon (C) decomposition and nitrogen (N) mineralization behavior of fallow weeds in organic rice farming, we carried out two experiments. Firstly, we examined the effect of adding 1% foxtail to soils that were sampled from fields that were farmed conventionally or organically for different durations (4–12 years). The results showed that net N mineralization of incorporated foxtail was not affected by the duration of organic farming, although the N mineralization of indigenous soil increased with organic farming duration. Secondly, 1% pulverized young and old foxtail (YF and OF; C/N ratios of 47.0 and 54.9, respectively), and milk vetch (YM and OM; C/N ratios of 13.0 and 14.6, respectively), were mixed with soil samples from fields that had been farmed organically for 15 years to determine the role of each plant. More than half of weed C was decomposed during 4 weeks of anaerobic incubation at 30°C. In addition, the net weed C decomposition potentials were significantly higher in YF and YM than those in OF and OM. The lower C/N ratio of milk vetch was contributed to a net N mineralization rate that was 8.4 times higher than that of foxtail. The percentage of N mineralized from milk vetch was significantly higher (about 2.3 times) than that from foxtail. Even though foxtail incorporation can contribute to the growth of organic rice as an N nutrient source, it should be noted that net N immobilization occurred for 2 weeks of incubation at 30°C, and sometimes extended to 4 weeks before net N mineralization became tangible. Considering this early net N immobilization following incorporation of foxtail, it is recommended to wait at least 4 weeks between the start of flooding after weed incorporation and transplanting rice to facilitate initial growth and avoid N exhaustion.

Our previous pot experiments showed that using Azolla either or both as dual and green manure with rice increases its yield or significantly reduces either or both methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. To confirm these findings in an actual field, Azolla was either grown as a dual crop (herein Cover) or incorporated as green manure plus dual cropping (herein AGM + Cover) at the beginning of the experiment along with rice. Compared with the control (chemical fertilizer; herein NPK), NPK + Cover and AGM + Cover treatments did not influence cumulative CH₄ emissions throughout the rice growth period. However, AGM + Cover treatment affected significant CH₄ emissions at early, middle, and later rice growth stages by 140.6%, 24.6%, and 33.1%, respectively, compared with NPK + Cover treatment. These emissions were attributed to the readily available carbon substrate for methanogens following the incorporation of Azolla as green manure. Compared with NPK, NPK + Cover and AGM + Cover significantly increased N₂O emissions by 645.9% and 816.2%, respectively, during the middle rice growth stage. No significant N₂O emission differences were observed in the three treatments in the early or later rice growth stages. The higher N₂O emissions from the middle rice growth stage were ascribed to high substrate availability from the dead Azolla by higher summer air temperature in the 2019 season. AGM + Cover significantly decreased rice yield by 37.5% (NPK) and 35.3% (NPK + Cover), with no significant differences between NPK and NPK + Cover. This reduction was attributed to nitrogen immobilization from the incorporated Azolla during the early stage. Therefore, to ascertain the potential of Azolla in paddy fields to address environmental safety while sustaining yield, emphasis on the interaction of different application methods with various management practices is necessary.