Rice-edible mushroom Stropharia rugosoannulata rotation mitigates net global warming potential while enhancing soil fertility and economic benefits

Abstract

The economic benefits of rice–wheat (RW) and rice–oilseed rape (RO) rotation in China are low. By contrast, the rice–edible mushroom Stropharia rugosoannulata (RE) rotation yields significantly higher economic benefits than RW and RO rotations. Furthermore, RE rotation can avoid air pollution caused by rice straw burning and has been widely adopted in China. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how the rotation affects CH₄ and N₂O emissions and global warming potential. Herein, three rice-based rotations, including RW, RO and RE rotations, were conducted in central China. The RE rotation resulted in the lowest CH₄ emission from the winter crop season as well as the lowest annual N₂O emission from the rice seasons among the three rotations. Moreover, compared with the RW and RO rotations, the RE rotation significantly increased the soil organic carbon content by 30.2 % and 31.2 %, and the rice yield by 16.0 % and 17.0 %, respectively. Hence, the RE rotation significantly reduced the net global warming potential by 2008.4 % and 696.5 % compared with the RW and RO rotations, respectively. Furthermore, the RE rotation improved soil fertility compared with the other two rotations. Although the RE rotation required the highest agricultural input among the three rotations, it contributed to the highest net ecosystem economic profits owing to its highest agricultural income and lowest environmental damage cost. Thus, RE rotation is an effective rice-based rotation that can use rice straws to reduce the net global warming potential and increase economic benefits and soil fertility. Therefore, RE rotation may serve as an alternative strategy for achieving sustainable agricultural production in winter fallow areas of the rice-upland region in Yangtze River Basin, China.