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Effects of detritivorous invertebrates on the decomposition of rice straw: evidence from a microcosm experiment

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Abstract

Decomposition of crop residues is a key process in agricultural systems that influences nutrient cycling and productivity. To clarify the roles of different groups of invertebrates in decomposition in paddy fields, we conducted a microcosm experiment, testing the effects of soil eluate filtered through a 21 μm mesh (control treatment) against the effects of microfauna (< 0.1 mm) and small gastropods (juvenile golden apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata), ca. 2 mm shell diameter), both separately and in combination, on rice straw decomposition. Rice straw in litterbags was incubated at the soil surface and in the soil together with standardized amounts of the respective detritivores for 10 and 21 days. Compared to the control treatment, snails and microfauna enhanced the reduction in straw mass on the soil surface by 19 and 22%, respectively. Both groups combined increased the reduction in straw biomass by 30%. Below the soil surface, the contribution of detritivores to decomposition was smaller, reducing straw biomass by just 1% (snails), 11% (microfauna) and 14% (snails + microfauna) compared to the control. The effects of microfauna and snails on decomposition were not fully additive, a pattern that could be due to competition or trophic interactions. Model selection using Akaike’s information criterion on nested linear mixed effects models led to a model including the main effects (snails, microfauna, position and time), several two-way interactions and the three-way interaction snails * microfauna * litterbag_position as the most parsimonious description of the data. Keeping straw accessible to aquatic invertebrate detritivores should be a suitable management strategy to enhance decomposition in paddy fields, although trade-offs with other management issues such as pest control need to be considered.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff at the Crop and Environmental Science Department of the International Rice Research Institute for their hospitality during the microcosm experiment. We are grateful to Sylvia (Bong) Villareal, Liberty Almazan, Carmencita Bernal, Arriza Arida and Alberto Naredo for their support. This study was funded in part through the project ‘Land-use intensity and Ecological Engineering—Assessment Tools for risks and Opportunities in irrigated rice based production systems’ (LEGATO), German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), Grant No. 01LL09 17L.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-v.-Frisch-Str. 8, 35043, Marburg, Germany

    Jörn Panteleit, Michael Bacht, Roland Brandl & Stefan Hotes

  2. Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia

    Finbarr G. Horgan

  3. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Manfred Türke & Martin Schädler

  4. Department Biozönoseforschung, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ, Theodor-Lieser-Str. 4, 06120, Halle, Germany

    Anja Schmidt & Martin Schädler

  5. Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany

    Manfred Türke

  6. Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Manfred Türke

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  1. Jörn Panteleit
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  2. Finbarr G. Horgan
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  8. Stefan Hotes
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Correspondence to Stefan Hotes.

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Panteleit, J., Horgan, F.G., Türke, M. et al. Effects of detritivorous invertebrates on the decomposition of rice straw: evidence from a microcosm experiment. Paddy Water Environ 16, 279–286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-017-0625-8

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