Enhancing ecosystem services through direct-seeded rice in middle Indo-Gangetic Plains: a comparative study of different rice establishment practices

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is extensively cultivated in South Asia mostly under puddled transplanted conditions which are highly energy and water-intensive with low income and degraded soil properties. Off-late, alternative crop establishment practices such as direct seeded rice, system of rice intensification, and zero-till rice have gained importance as viable options for resilient farming. However, the valuation of these different rice systems in terms of ecosystem services is not systematically carried out. The research objective was to evaluate the ecosystem services of different rice establishment systems to determine their potential and importance as ecological assets and strive to find out the most productive establishment method while minimizing its effects on the natural resources, environment, and human health. A novel valuation approach was developed using an experimental and bottom-up method to assess the value of rice systems based on three aspects: provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural services. To evaluate the ecosystem services of different rice establishment methods, 11 indicators were selected. The seven rice establishment methods evaluated were random-puddled transplanted rice, line- puddled transplanted rice, conventional till-machine transplanted rice, zero till-machine transplanted rice, system of rice intensification, conventional till, and zero till- direct seeded rice. The results revealed that the value of rice ecosystem services across establishment practices averaged US$ 9092 ha^-1 yr^-1. Direct seeded rice (zero till/conventional till) provided the highest ecosystem services at US$ 9491 ha^-1year^-1 and random puddled transplanted rice was lowest at US$ 8767 ha^-1 year^-1. Provisioning, regulation-maintenance, and cultural ecosystem services contributed 20.3,79.4, and 0.3% to the total ecosystem services value. The research emphasizes the favorable environmental attributes of direct seeded rice, which may be integrated into the policy framework for better decision making to guarantee the sustainability of the agri-food system in the mid-Indo-Gangetic regions.