Ecological and Environmental Benefits of Planting Green Manure in Paddy Fields

Abstract

Soil fertility management is one of the most important factors affecting crop production. The use of organic manures, including green manure, is an important strategy to maintain and/or improve soil fertility for sustainable crop production. Green manure generally refers to crops that can provide fertilizer sources for agricultural cash crops and improve soil productivity. The application of green manure is a traditional and valuable practice for agroecosystem management, particularly in paddy systems where green manure is rotated with rice. This paper systematically reviews the effects of green manure on soil microenvironments and greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of green manure in the phytoremediation of paddy fields. The paper concludes that green manure can not only affect soil nutrients and the microbial community, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance soil remediation to some extent. Moreover, this review provides theoretical guidance on the selection of green manure germplasm and tillage methods for paddy fields of different climates and textures. However, this review only provides a macro-overview of the effects of green manure on soil nutrients, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil remediation in rice paddies based on a large number of previous studies, and does not provide a comprehensive quantitative assessment due to differences in green manure varieties and soil texture. The prospects for quantitative analysis of the ecological and economic effects of the sustainable development of green manure cultivation are discussed.