TY - JOUR

T1 - The sustainability of rice‐crayfish coculture systems: a mini review of evidence from Jianghan plain in China

AU - Hou, Jun

AU - Styles, David

AU - Cao, Yuxian

AU - Ye, Xinxin

N1 - Brought in from Pubs router after staff member had left

PY - 2021/7/1

Y1 - 2021/7/1

N2 - BACKGROUNDRice-crayfish coculture (RC) uses 10% of the paddy field area for crayfish ditches, with rice cultivated in the remaining area, providing staple carbohydrates alongside fish rich in protein and essential oils. These systems rely on complex interactions, involving nutrient cycling, fish feeding, soil physicochemical modification, and insect-pest predation, and have important socio-economic effects. Past studies have considered only one or a few of these aspects pertinent to food system sustainability, and there remains a need for an integrated assessment of RC systems. In this mini-review, we collate data from two field experiments and three field surveys published across eight papers to synthesize the overall sustainability of RC systems in Jianghan Plain in China.RESULTSIn deep groundwater fields, the RC rice yield was 30–55% lower than for typical rice-rapeseed (RR) rotations, while CH4 emission and pesticide use were 41–96% and 50% lower, respectively. In shallow groundwater fields, RC rice yield was similar to typical rice monoculture (RM) cultivation, while CH4 emission and pesticide use were 28–41% and 17% lower for RC cultivation. Field survey data indicated that RC can improve soil nutrient and organic matter content significantly compared with RM cultivation, and also increase the diversity of fauna and flora in the paddy field whilst reducing the incidence of chilo suppressalis (a major rice pest). Feed inputs to RC systems increased crayfish yield by 31–71% and reduced the fraction of N inputs lost to the environment from 71% to 41%.CONCLUSIONWe conclude that RC systems with feed inputs in areas with shallow groundwater can deliver improved food security, sustainability, and resilience through ecological intensification. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

AB - BACKGROUNDRice-crayfish coculture (RC) uses 10% of the paddy field area for crayfish ditches, with rice cultivated in the remaining area, providing staple carbohydrates alongside fish rich in protein and essential oils. These systems rely on complex interactions, involving nutrient cycling, fish feeding, soil physicochemical modification, and insect-pest predation, and have important socio-economic effects. Past studies have considered only one or a few of these aspects pertinent to food system sustainability, and there remains a need for an integrated assessment of RC systems. In this mini-review, we collate data from two field experiments and three field surveys published across eight papers to synthesize the overall sustainability of RC systems in Jianghan Plain in China.RESULTSIn deep groundwater fields, the RC rice yield was 30–55% lower than for typical rice-rapeseed (RR) rotations, while CH4 emission and pesticide use were 41–96% and 50% lower, respectively. In shallow groundwater fields, RC rice yield was similar to typical rice monoculture (RM) cultivation, while CH4 emission and pesticide use were 28–41% and 17% lower for RC cultivation. Field survey data indicated that RC can improve soil nutrient and organic matter content significantly compared with RM cultivation, and also increase the diversity of fauna and flora in the paddy field whilst reducing the incidence of chilo suppressalis (a major rice pest). Feed inputs to RC systems increased crayfish yield by 31–71% and reduced the fraction of N inputs lost to the environment from 71% to 41%.CONCLUSIONWe conclude that RC systems with feed inputs in areas with shallow groundwater can deliver improved food security, sustainability, and resilience through ecological intensification. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

KW - Biotechnology

KW - Agronomy and Crop Science

KW - Food Science

KW - Nutrition and Dietetics

U2 - 10.1002/jsfa.11019

DO - 10.1002/jsfa.11019

M3 - Article

VL - 101

SP - 3843

EP - 3853

JO - Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

JF - Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

SN - 0022-5142

IS - 9

ER -