Spatiotemporal modelling of methane flux from the rice fields of India using remote sensing and GIS

Abstract

Rice fields have been accredited as an important source of anthropogenic methane, with estimates of annual emission ranging from 47 to 60 Tg per year, representing 8.5–10.9% of total emission from all sources. In this study, attempts have been made to derive the spatial and temporal pattern of methane emitted from the rice lands of India using an integrated methodology involving satellite remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Multidate SPOT VGT 10‐day Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composite data for a complete year were used to map the rice area, delineate single‐ and double‐cropped rice areas, crop calendar and growth stages. Rainfall, digital elevation and irrigation data were integrated to stratify the rice area into distinct categories related to methane emission. Preliminary analysis of the methane emission pattern was carried out using published values. The results show that around 91% of total methane emission results from wet‐season rice, contributing 4.66 Tg per year. The temporal pattern shows that August and September are the months of peak emission during the wet season, and March and April during the dry season.

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out as a Research and Development project of the Space Applications Centre (SAC). We thank Drs K. N. Shankara, K. L. M. Majumdar and V. Jayaraman for their encouragement and support to take up this study and Dr R. R. Navalgund for his critical comments. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for critical review and improving the quality of the manuscript.