www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/2/77/2005/ © Author(s) 2005. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Greenhouse gas emissions from Indian rice fields: calibration and upscaling using the DNDC model 1Unit of Simulation and Informatics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India 2Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA 3Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Abstract. Crop growth simulation models provide a means to quantify the effects of climate, soil and management on crop growth and biogeochemical processes in soil. The Denitrification and Decomposition (DNDC) model was evaluated for its ability to simulate methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Indian rice fields with various management practices. The model was calibrated and validated for field experiments in New Delhi, India. The observed yield, N uptake and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were in good agreement with the values predicted by the model. The model was then applied for estimation of GHG emissions from rice fields in India using a newly compiled soil/climate/land use database. Continuous flooding of rice fields (42.25 million ha) resulted in annual net emissions of 1.07–1.10, 0.038–0.048 and 21.16–60.96 Tg of CH4-C, N2O-N and CO2-C, respectively, with a cumulated global warming potential (GWP) of 130.93–272.83 Tg CO2 equivalent. Intermittent flooding of rice fields reduced annual net emissions to 0.12–0.13 Tg CH4-C and 16.66–48.80 Tg CO2-C while N2O emission increased to 0.056–0.060 Tg N2O-N. The GWP, however, reduced to 91.73–211.80 Tg CO2 equivalent. The study suggests that the model can be applied for studying the GHG related issues in rice cropping systems of India. Discussion Paper (PDF, 832 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 4 Comments) Final Revised Paper (BG) Citation: Pathak, H., Li, C., and Wassmann, R.: Greenhouse gas emissions from Indian rice fields: calibration and upscaling using the DNDC model, Biogeosciences Discuss., 2, 77-102, 2005. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager |