Significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water consumption, and seed usage, can be achieved by adopting SRI methods.
Development has to be ecologically driven and
eco-friendly, and it needs to be economically efficient, leading to sustainability and prosperity at all levels. SRI can be an entry point for all these developments.
SRI significantly reduces methane emissions and enhances carbon sequestration meaning that SRI can play a significant role in slowing and eventually reversing global warming and climate change.
The major aspect influencing methane emissions from rice fields is water management, rice cultivation has the potential to significantly influence global anthropogenic methane emissions through effective water management.
SRI improves plant health resulting in higher yields with improved resilience. Overall, SRI increases yields by 20-50%, often by 100% or more.
Methane emissions are influenced by a number of factors, however, it is agreed that the major aspect influencing methane emissions from rice cultivation is through water management. Whether it is irrigated or rainfed rice cultivation, water management can play a significant role in methane emission reduction.
SRI significantly decreases seed usage and seed multiplication rate increases from hundreds of grains per seed, to thousands of grains per seed.
SRI significantly reduces methane emissions and enhances carbon sequestration meaning that SRI can play a significant role in slowing and eventually reversing global warming and climate change.
By calculating SRI's global warming potential (GWP) as CO2 equivalent it has been shown that SRI is able to:
per hectare
even shown
per kilogram of rice produced
by around
Tackling methane emissions presents the strongest opportunity to mitigate global warming quickly. SRI significantly reduces methane emissions.
Following intermittent paddy irrigation,
SRI has been shown to:
by up to
SRI enhances the root systems of the rice plant thereby promoting healthier and stronger growth. This results in higher yields with improved resilience to stresses from extreme weather, pests, and diseases. Overall, SRI increases yields by 20-50%, often by 100% or more.
Irrigated and Rainfed Rice
Irrigated rice is the highest methane source of all rice ecologies, accounting for 97% of the CH4 emissions from rice fields in East Asia and for 60% of the CH4 emitted from South and Southeast Asian rice fields, 70-80% respectively for the whole of Asia.
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The major aspect influencing methane emissions from rice fields is water management. AWD is the recommended practice for irrigated rice cultivation under SRI practice. The non-flooded soil conditions that SRI practice promotes through AWD can reduce methane emissions by 70%; and AWD has even demonstrated methane reductions by up to 90%.
Rainfed agriculture supplies almost 60% of global food production. Rice is an important crop within this category with around 25% of global rice production coming from rainfed areas.
Focus on GHG reductions in rice cultivation is often concentrated on irrigated rice cultivation due to the higher emissions of methane and therefore larger reductions possible.
However, rainfed rice cultivation has a lot to gain and give through SRI practice. Rainfed rice is highly dependant on climate and consequently more vulnerable to changes in temperature and rainfall. For low-income households struggling to meet food requirements, SRI can increase yields, strengthen climate adaptation, and increase incomes. Furthermore, SRI has also shown to reduce CO2e emissions by around 17% in rainfed areas.
SRI significantly decreases seed usage. Plant density is reduced to enhance crop growth by allowing higher photosynthesis rates to occur through SRI practice.
With SRI the seed multiplication rate increases from hundreds of grains per seed, to thousands of grains per seed.
SRI can cut seed requirements by 90% or more.
SRI reduces water consumption by 25-50%.
SRI uses alternate wetting and drying (AWD) instead of traditional flooding, vastly reducing water consumption.
SRI cultivates stronger and more robust plants with larger and longer-living root systems. Water dependency is reduced meaning unirrigated or upland SRI rice plants also require less rainfall.
