Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas regarded second only to carbon dioxide in its ability to cause global warming. Methane is important because of its relatively fast increase, and also because it is, per molecule, some 60 times more effective than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. The largest present anthropogenic sources of methane are rice fields, cattle and biomass burning. The global emissions from these sources are still not well known. In the middle 1980s there were few available data on methane emissions from rice fields leading to estimates of a global source between 100-280 Tg/yr. Extensive worldwide research during the last decade has shown that the global emissions from rice fields are more likely to be in the range of 30-80Tg/yr. While this work has led to a substantial reduction in the estimated emissions, the uncertainty is still quite large, and seriously affects our ability to include methane in integrated assessments for future climate change and environmental management.
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