Integrated Rice-Duck Farming Decreases Soil Seed Bank and Weed Density in a Paddy Field

Coupled cropping-breeding modes have been highly recommended due to their ecological and sustainable nature. Integrated rice-duck farming is a typical ecological planting system in rice paddy fields and has been widely popularized in Asia where a considerable area of cropland has been planting rice. In this study, two experimental treatments of turbid water or rice-duck treatment were established to compare with the control and a conventional treatment in absence of ducks. The turbid water treatment imitated the muddying effect by duck activities with the trampling and foraging effects excluded, while the rice-duck treatment included all of the mentioned effects by raising ducks in rice paddy field. Results showed that the rice-duck treatment significantly reduced soil seed bank density by more than 40% and the figures under the turbid water treatment were 18.2% and 30.5%, accordingly, in the early and late rice growing seasons. Moreover, the rice-duck treatment significantly altered the vertical distribution of soil seed bank by substantially declining the seed density in the topsoil (0–5 cm). Changes in soil seed bank density considerably contributed to the declines in above-ground weed density because a significant correlation was detected between the soil seed bank density in the early season and the weed density in the late season. Our results of declined soil seed bank and weed density in integrated rice-duck farming imply that this system is highly efficient as a biological pathway for controlling weeds.

Discussion on runoff purification technology of highway bridge deck based on water quality safety

Aiming at the actual problems existing, including a poor purification effect of highway bridge runoff collection and treatment system across sensitive water and necessary manual emergency operation, three kinds of technology, three pools system of bridge runoff purification, the integral pool of bridge runoff purification and ecological planting tank, are put forward by optimizing the structure of purification unit and system setting. At the same time, we come up with an emergency strategy for hazardous material leakage basing on automatic identification and remote control of traffic accidents. On the basis of combining these with the optimized pool structure, sensitive water safety can be guaranteed and water pollution, from directly discharging of bridge runoff, can be decreased. For making up for the shortages of green highway construction technology, the technique has important reference value.

Infestation of weed species in monocrop coffee or intercropped with banana, under agroecological system

We aimed with this study to compare weed infestation in coffee under two different cropping managements: conventional coffee grown alone, or intercropped with banana plantation in a year-round basis (late spring, late summer, late fall and late winter). The experiment was installed in 2009 under field conditions at the Escola Municipal Rural Benedita Figueiró de Oliveira, in the city of Ivinhema in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Assessments of weed occurrence were made three years after employment, on both cropping systems, and density, frequency, dominance and the importance value for each plant species in each system and season were quantified. Plant diversity within each system was estimated by Simpson and Shannon-Weiner indexes. Similarity between cropping systems were also assessed by the binary asymmetric similarity coefficient of Jaccard. Absolute infestation and spontaneous species differed between the two cropping systems in all seasons. Overall species diversity is higher in the monocrop compared with the intercrop, and it is associated in this study with the higher incidence of troublesome species. Areas were similar in terms of weed composition only in the Fall. Shading provided by the banana trees shows to be an efficient culture management aiming to suppress weeds in agro-ecological planting systems.

The Value of Ecological Plantings in Public Gardens

This paper has been developed from a third year dissertation written as part of the Diploma in Horticulture course at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It serves as an overview of the subject of ecological planting and its potential applications within public gardens. It also outlines some scientific benefits regarding ecological studies, the impact that this type of planting may have on horticulture (both in gardens and the nursery trade), and the educational benefits for the public and school groups. The case study below looks at the viability of representing a section of Snow Gum Grassy Woodland (a vegetation type found in New South Wales, Australia) outside in Coates Wood, Wakehurst Place, UK.