Gaseous emissions from flooded rice paddy agriculture

Modification of continental land for agricultural use has increased over the last century. Atmospheric impact of this land use change has only been addressed for a few ecosystems and compounds. This paper provides, to date, the most comprehensive examination of gaseous emissions from rice paddies. We report seasonal emission ranges and integrated emission totals for 55 chemical species. This paper is the first to report emissions of isoprene, ethyl chloride, bromoform, alkyl nitrates, bromodichloromethane, hexane, and benzene from rice paddies. Emissions of alkyl nitrates, bromoform, ethyl chloride, and bromodichloromethane by terrestrial ecosystems have never before been observed. For species where emissions were observed we tentatively ascribe possible mechanisms of production; photochemical or biological production in the water column or rice plant mediated. For some compounds, during periods of maximum emissions, ambient rice paddy air concentrations may be concentrated enough to affect regional atmospheric chemistry.