The study entitled “Preliminary CO₂ Flux Measurements from a Newly Installed Eddy Covariance Tower in a Rice Field in Nueva Ecija” was accepted for a poster presentation at the AsiaFlux Conference 2025, held on 20-25 October 2025 in Pangkalan Kerinchi, Riau, Indonesia, under the theme “Nature-based Solutions for Asia: From Advanced Science and Technology Practices.”
In June 2025, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), in partnership with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), installed an eddy covariance flux tower at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija to continuously monitor carbon and energy exchanges in a tropical rice field. The study presents a preliminary analysis of the first three months of measurements, covering the wet-season transplanting and early growth stages of rice.
Results from the flux tower showed clear diurnal patterns of CO₂ exchange, with daytime carbon uptake and nighttime release. Over the observation period, the rice field acted as a net carbon sink, indicating increasing carbon uptake as the canopy developed during the wet season. In addition, moderate negative correlations between CO₂ flux and Sentinel-2 NDVI suggest that satellite-derived canopy greenness can capture key aspects of field-scale carbon dynamics.
As a preliminary study, these findings demonstrate the feasibility and value of continuous eddy covariance monitoring in Philippine rice systems. The study provides an important baseline for long-term greenhouse gas monitoring and supports future integration of ground-based flux measurements with satellite observations to improve carbon and methane accounting in rice agriculture.
