J Plant Ecol ›› 2023, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (6): rtad014.DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtad014

• Review •    

Coculturing rice with aquatic animals promotes ecological intensification of paddy ecosystem

Zi-Jun Ji, Lu-Feng Zhao, Tao-Jie Zhang, Ran-Xin Dai, Jian-Jun Tang, Liang-Liang Hu, Xin Chen*   

  1. College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
  • Received:2022-11-28 Revised:2023-01-10 Accepted:2023-05-04 Online:2023-05-12 Published:2023-12-01
  • Contact: E-mail: chen-tang@zju.edu.cn
  • About author:†These authors contributed equally to this work.

水稻与水生动物共作可促进稻田系统生态集约化

Abstract: Species coculture can increase agro-biodiversity and therefore constitutes an ecological intensification measure for agriculture. Rice-aquatic animal coculture, one type of species coculture, has been practiced and researched widely. Here, we review recent studies and present results of a quantitative analysis of literature on rice-aquatic animal coculture systems. We address three questions: (i) can rice yield and soil fertility be maintained or increased with less chemical input through rice-aquatic animal coculture? (ii) how do aquatic animals benefit the paddy ecosystem? (iii) how can coculture be implemented for ecological intensification? Meta-analysis based on published papers showed that rice-aquatic animal cocultures increased rice yield, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen and decreased insect pests and weeds compared with rice monocultures. Studies also showed that rice-aquatic animal cocultures reduced pesticide and fertilizer application compared with rice monocultures. Rice plants provide a beneficial environment for aquatic animals, leading to high animal activities in the field. Aquatic animals, in turn, help remove rice pests and act as ecological engineers that affect soil conditions, which favor the growth of rice plants. Aquatic animals promote nutrient cycling and the complementary use of nutrients between rice and aquatic animals, which enhances nutrient-use efficiency in the coculture. To generate beneficial outcomes, how to develop compatible partnerships between rice and aquatic animals, and compatible culturing strategies for coculture systems are the key points. Investigating which traits of aquatic animals and rice varieties could best match to create productive and sustainable coculture systems could be one of the future focuses.

Key words: interspecific facilitation, nutrient cycling, pest control, rice yield, soil organic carbon, soil nitrogen

摘要:
物种共作可以增加农业系统的生物多样性,是农业生态过程强化的重要措施。水稻-水产动物共作是农业系统物种共作的类型之一,国内外已开展了大量生产实践和研究。本文综述并定量分析了水稻-水产动物共作(简称共作系统)的最新研究成果,聚焦3个问题:(i)共作系统能否在维持或提高水稻产量和土壤肥力的同时,减低农药和肥料的使用?(ii)水产动物是如何对稻田生态系统产生正效应的?(iii)如何建立共作系统以实现稻田生态集约化?文献整合分析表明,水稻-水产动物共作产生显著正效应,即与水稻单作系统相比,共作系统的水稻产量增加、害虫和杂草的发生显著下降、土壤有机质和总氮含量显著提高。种间互惠和养分互补利用是水产动物对稻田生态系统产生正效应的主要生态学机理,一方面水稻为水产动物提供有利的环境,促进其在稻田中的活动和生长;另一方面水产动物的取食活动降低了病害草害并改善了土壤条件,有利于水稻生长。此外,水产动物促进了稻田系统养分循环, 而且养分可在水稻和水产动物之间互补利用,从而提高了共作系统的养分利用效率。如何构建水稻和水产动物之间相互适应的共作系统,以及如何建立与共作系统相匹配的种养技术策略,是水稻-水产动物共作实现稻田生态集约化的关键。从生物学性状的角度,研究和选育适于共作系统的水稻品种和水产动物品系,是未来应关注的方向之一。

关键词: 种间互惠, 养分循环, 害虫控制, 水稻产量, 土壤有机碳, 土壤氮素