Effects of duck activities on a weed community under a transplanted rice-duck farming system in southern China

摘要

Rice-duck farming is one of the traditional, but current and gradually popularized, ecological farming techniques for paddy rice production in China. In comparison to rice monoculture farming, we investigated a weed community and weed infestation in a transplanted rice-duck farming system and examined the effects of duck activities on the weeds. Three treatments were imposed in the experiment: a rice-duck coculture with duck grazing and disturbance effects, a rice-duck coculture with duck disturbance effects only, and a control (rice monoculture, no duck effects). Rice seedlings were nursed and transplanted in this experiment. The total number of weed species was significantly lower in the treatment with both duck grazing and disturbance and in the treatment with duck disturbance only than in the monoculture rice treatment (control). The Shannon-Wiener Biodiversity Index of the weed species decreased but the Pielou Evenness Index increased in both treatments with ducks compared to the monoculture control. Sorensen's coefficient of similarity of the weed communities was low between the treatments with ducks and the monoculture control, implying that the weed communities diverged. The total density and biomass of the weed community in both the treatments with ducks were significantly lower compared to the monoculture control. However, compared to the rice monoculture control, the weed biomass was reduced by 98% in the treatment with duck grazing and disturbance and by 84% in the treatment with duck disturbance only, implying that only 14% of the weeds were controlled by duck grazing and that 84% of the weed biomass was inhibited by duck activities in the rice field with ducks. The rice grain yield increased in the treatments with ducks compared to the control. The results suggested that duck activities, like grazing weeds and disturbance of the soil and water, had a significant effect on the weed community structure and that weeds could be well controlled without herbicide application under a rice-duck farming system.