Managing yield and soil trace gas fluxes in rice through furrow irrigation and sulfur-enriched urea

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation presents a significant opportunity to reduce methane and nitrous oxide fluxes by adopting optimal irrigation strategies and smart N fertilization. A 3-year field study was conducted in Northeast Arkansas to evaluate the impacts of flooded and furrow irrigation with either urea or sulfur-enriched urea (Urea-S) at 168 kg N ha^{- 1} on rice yield and soil trace gas fluxes. Gas samples were collected using the flux-vented chamber method and analyzed via gas chromatography. Furrow irrigation reduced CH₄ fluxes by 90%-100%, but increased N₂O fluxes by up to 86% relative to flooded irrigation. Urea-S reduced N₂O emissions under certain moisture conditions by 67%. Grain yields were >10 Mg ha^{- 1} across all treatments and were unaffected by irrigation and N fertilizer types. Results highlight the relevance of aligning irrigation strategy with N fertilizer type to successfully reduce N₂O fluxes.