Sustainable Irrigation Management of Winter Wheat and Effects on Soil Gas Emissions (N 2 O and CH 4 ) and Enzymatic Activity in the Brazilian Savannah

Alexsandra Duarte de Oliveira (), Jorge Cesar dos Anjos Antonini, Marcos Vinícius Araújo dos Santos, Altair César Moreira de Andrade, Juaci Vitoria Malaquias, Arminda Moreira de Carvalho, Artur Gustavo Muller, Francisco Marcos dos Santos Delvico, Ieda de Carvalho Mendes, Jorge Henrique Chagas, Angelo Aparecido Barbosa Sussel and Julio Cesar Albrecht
Additional contact information
Alexsandra Duarte de Oliveira: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Jorge Cesar dos Anjos Antonini: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Marcos Vinícius Araújo dos Santos: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Altair César Moreira de Andrade: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Juaci Vitoria Malaquias: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Arminda Moreira de Carvalho: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Artur Gustavo Muller: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Francisco Marcos dos Santos Delvico: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Ieda de Carvalho Mendes: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Jorge Henrique Chagas: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Trigo, Passo Fundo 99050-970, RS, Brazil
Angelo Aparecido Barbosa Sussel: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil
Julio Cesar Albrecht: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA Cerrados, Brasília 73310-970, DF, Brazil

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-25

Abstract: Water scarcity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pose significant challenges to sustainable wheat production in tropical regions such as the Brazilian Cerrado. This study evaluated the effects of different soil water depletion levels, denoted as f (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of available water capacity—AWC), on no-tillage winter wheat irrigated after rainfed soybean cultivation. Grain yield decreased significantly at depletion levels ≥ 60%, with the highest yields observed at f = 20% (6933 kg ha −1 ) and f = 40% (6814 kg ha −1 ). Water use efficiency (WUE) ranged from 12.4 to 14.0 kg ha −1 mm −1 , with no significant differences among treatments. Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions peaked at f = 60% (4.55 kg ha −1 ), resulting in the highest average global warming potential (GWP = 1.185.78 kg CO 2 eq ha −1 ) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI = 192.66 kg CO 2 eq Mg −1 grain). Methane (CH 4 ) acted as a net sink across all irrigation levels. Soil enzymatic activities (β-glucosidase and arylsulfatase) were not significantly affected by irrigation management. Overall, irrigation scheduling based on f = 40% soil water depletion provided the best balance between productivity and environmental sustainability, representing a climate-smart and resource-efficient strategy for wheat production in tropical agroecosystems. These findings provide promising insights for tropical agriculture by showing that sustainable irrigation can balance productivity and climate mitigation in the Cerrado. Maintaining soil water depletion below 60% significantly reduces N 2 O emissions and environmental impact, emphasizing the importance of conservation practices. Additionally, preserving soil biological quality supports the long-term viability of these practices and offers valuable guidance for policies promoting efficient irrigation in climate-vulnerable regions.

Keywords: arylsulfatase; available soil water capacity; β-glucosidase; crop coefficient; global warming potential; greenhouse gas intensity; methane; nitrous oxide; no-tillage; tropical agroecosystems; water use efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7734/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7734/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7734-:d:1735873

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().