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Semi-arid irrigation farm dams are a small source of greenhouse gas emissions

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Abstract

Small artificial waterbodies are larger emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) than natural waterbodies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends these waterbodies are accounted for in national emission inventories, yet data is extremely limited for irrigated landscapes. To derive a baseline of their greenhouse gas footprint, we investigated 38 irrigation farm dams in horticulture and broadacre crop** in semi-arid NSW, Australia. Dissolved CO2, CH4, and nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured in spring and summer, 2021–2022. While all dams were sources of CH4 to the atmosphere, 52% of irrigation farm dams were sinks for CO2 and 70% were sinks for N2O. Relationships in the linear mixed effect models indicate that CO2 concentrations were primarily driven by dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonium, and sediment carbon content, while N2O concentration was best explained by an interaction between DO and ammonium. Methane concentrations did not display any relationship with typical biological variables and instead were related to soil salinity, trophic status, and size. Carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions were highest in small (< 0.001 km2) dams (305 g CO2-eq m−2 season−1) and in those used for recycling irrigation water (249 g CO2-eq m−2 season−1), with CH4 contributing 70% of average CO2-eq emissions. However, irrigation dams had considerably lower CH4 emissions (mean 40 kg ha−1 yr−1) than the IPCC emission factor (EF) of 183 kg CH4 ha−1 yr−1 for constructed ponds and lower N2O EF of 0.06% than the indirect EF for agricultural surface waters (0.26%). This synoptic survey reveals existing models may be severely overestimating (4–5 times) farm dam CH4 and N2O emissions in semi-arid irrigation areas. Further research is needed to define these artificial waterbodies in emissions accounting.

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Data availability

The data generated in this study are freely available on GitHub (https://github.com/JackieRWebb/Irrigation-dams-GHGs).

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Acknowledgements

We extend our thanks to the farmers who participated in this study by generously allowing our research team onto their farms to sample dams and the knowledge they imparted. To Julian Hill for guiding project management with AgriFutures Australia. A special mention to students Samantha Taylor and Lucas D’Monte, who helped with field work tasks. The Irrigation Research and Extension Committee (Iva Qarisa, IREC) and Rice Research Australia (Neil Bull) for dam access (Whitton and RRAPL) and connecting us with growers.

Funding

This work was funded by AgriFutures Australia (project PRO-015008) and Deakin University (project PJ07846). JRW would like to acknowledge Deakin University for seed funding through the Peer-Review, ECR Support and the Mini ARC Analog Programme—Linkage schemes to enable pilot data collection and equipment purchase.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Regional and Rural Futures (CeRRF), Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Griffith, NSW, 2680, Australia

    Jackie R. Webb, Wendy C. Quayle & Carlos Ballester

  2. Department of Soil & Physical Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln, 7647, New Zealand

    Naomi S. Wells

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  1. Jackie R. Webb
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Correspondence to Jackie R. Webb.

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Webb, J.R., Quayle, W.C., Ballester, C. et al. Semi-arid irrigation farm dams are a small source of greenhouse gas emissions. Biogeochemistry 166, 123–138 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-023-01100-4

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