Sion is supported by the following observations: (1) On day 41, d13C

Sion is supported by the following observations: (1) On day 41, d13C of the produced CH4 was ,150 albeit the applied rice straw carbon had a d13C of 474.7 (Fig. 4C). The difference is much more than theoretically NT-157 possible from isotope discrimination during methanogenesis. Therefore, we have to assume that the CH4 produced immediately after straw application had a much higher d13C as it was derived from straw to a large extent. (2) The analogous observation was made with the produced CO2 (Fig. 4D), although isotope discrimination is much smaller for production of CO2 than of CH4. (3) Still after day 40, d13C of the produced CH4 and CO2 tended to decrease with vegetation time. Hence, we conclude that contribution of decomposition of straw to CH4 production was very high after straw application and then progressively decreased as the carbon compounds of the straw became increasingly less decomposable. Future studies should further refine the seasonal change in flux partitioning. This will help improving the predictions of CH4 emission rates from rice fields by process-based modeling.Days after transplanting 41 d CCH4-ROC d13CCO2-ROC70 261.3610.2 210.768.90 257.2617.4 29.7610.267.4666.7 249.4614.2 231.3665.1 23.6614.The values were calculated using d C of CH4 and CO2 produced in rice field soil; means 6 SD (n = 4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049073.tPrevious studies reported that d13C values of pore water CH4 and emitted CH4 were relatively poor proxies for those of produced CH4 [32,33]. This assessment is plausible, since in rice field soil pore water CH4 and emitted CH4 are not only affected by CH4 production, but also by CH4 oxidation [34?6] and CH4 transport [37?9], which all undergo carbon isotopic fractionation. Therefore, we primarily used the CH4 produced in soil samples for determining flux partitioning. However, we found that not only the data of the produced CH4 but also of the dissolved CH4 allowed determination of flux partitioning and resulted in similar values. Thus, more than 60 of the CH4 and CO2. Contribution of different carbon sources to the dissolved CH4 and COSources of Methane Production in Rice FieldsFigure 6. Percentage contribution of (A) ROC, (B) SOM and (C) RS to produced and dissolved CH4 in planted microcosms with RS treatment; means ?SD (n = 4). The differences between contributions to produced and dissolved CH4 were tested by two-tailed independent ttests, indicated by * when P,0.05. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049073.gdissolved in soil pore water were derived from root organic carbon after tillering stage, nearly the same as for produced CH4 and CO2 (Fig. 6 and 7). At tillering stage, however, the relative contribution of ROC to the dissolved CH4 was significantly lower and that of RS significantly higher when K162 compared to the contribution to the produced CH4. The difference was probably due to the gas transport limitation of rice plants at the early vegetative stage [32,40]. The residence time of CH4 in pore water at tillering stage can amount to several days. Therefore, at day 41 the pore water was probably still highly enriched in 13CH4 which had been produced from RS at earlier time. This conclusion is consistent with the substantially higher d13C values of the dissolved CH4 than those of the produced CH4 at day 41 (Fig 4A and 4C). As a result, the relative contribution of RS to dissolved CH4 was higher than to produced CH4 at day 41 and that of ROC was lower (Fig. 6B). In contrast, at later growth season.Sion is supported by the following observations: (1) On day 41, d13C of the produced CH4 was ,150 albeit the applied rice straw carbon had a d13C of 474.7 (Fig. 4C). The difference is much more than theoretically possible from isotope discrimination during methanogenesis. Therefore, we have to assume that the CH4 produced immediately after straw application had a much higher d13C as it was derived from straw to a large extent. (2) The analogous observation was made with the produced CO2 (Fig. 4D), although isotope discrimination is much smaller for production of CO2 than of CH4. (3) Still after day 40, d13C of the produced CH4 and CO2 tended to decrease with vegetation time. Hence, we conclude that contribution of decomposition of straw to CH4 production was very high after straw application and then progressively decreased as the carbon compounds of the straw became increasingly less decomposable. Future studies should further refine the seasonal change in flux partitioning. This will help improving the predictions of CH4 emission rates from rice fields by process-based modeling.Days after transplanting 41 d CCH4-ROC d13CCO2-ROC70 261.3610.2 210.768.90 257.2617.4 29.7610.267.4666.7 249.4614.2 231.3665.1 23.6614.The values were calculated using d C of CH4 and CO2 produced in rice field soil; means 6 SD (n = 4). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049073.tPrevious studies reported that d13C values of pore water CH4 and emitted CH4 were relatively poor proxies for those of produced CH4 [32,33]. This assessment is plausible, since in rice field soil pore water CH4 and emitted CH4 are not only affected by CH4 production, but also by CH4 oxidation [34?6] and CH4 transport [37?9], which all undergo carbon isotopic fractionation. Therefore, we primarily used the CH4 produced in soil samples for determining flux partitioning. However, we found that not only the data of the produced CH4 but also of the dissolved CH4 allowed determination of flux partitioning and resulted in similar values. Thus, more than 60 of the CH4 and CO2. Contribution of different carbon sources to the dissolved CH4 and COSources of Methane Production in Rice FieldsFigure 6. Percentage contribution of (A) ROC, (B) SOM and (C) RS to produced and dissolved CH4 in planted microcosms with RS treatment; means ?SD (n = 4). The differences between contributions to produced and dissolved CH4 were tested by two-tailed independent ttests, indicated by * when P,0.05. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049073.gdissolved in soil pore water were derived from root organic carbon after tillering stage, nearly the same as for produced CH4 and CO2 (Fig. 6 and 7). At tillering stage, however, the relative contribution of ROC to the dissolved CH4 was significantly lower and that of RS significantly higher when compared to the contribution to the produced CH4. The difference was probably due to the gas transport limitation of rice plants at the early vegetative stage [32,40]. The residence time of CH4 in pore water at tillering stage can amount to several days. Therefore, at day 41 the pore water was probably still highly enriched in 13CH4 which had been produced from RS at earlier time. This conclusion is consistent with the substantially higher d13C values of the dissolved CH4 than those of the produced CH4 at day 41 (Fig 4A and 4C). As a result, the relative contribution of RS to dissolved CH4 was higher than to produced CH4 at day 41 and that of ROC was lower (Fig. 6B). In contrast, at later growth season.