Crayfish–Fish Aquaculture Ponds Exert Reduced Climatic Impacts and Higher Economic Benefits than Traditional Wheat–Rice Paddy Cultivation

Zhiqiang Hu, Caiyun Gu, Carmelo Maucieri, Fei Shi, Yufei Zhao, Chenlong Feng, Yan Cao and Yaojun Zhang
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Zhiqiang Hu: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Caiyun Gu: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Carmelo Maucieri: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment—DAFNAE, University of Padua, Agripolis Campus, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Fei Shi: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Yufei Zhao: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Chenlong Feng: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Yan Cao: College of Pharmacy and Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 225300, China
Yaojun Zhang: International Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: In pursuit of higher economic profits, an increasing number of conventional rice paddies are being converted into aquaculture ponds in Southeast China. Due to the lack of field observations, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by this change are not clear. A parallel field experiment in Southeast China was performed to compare CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from rice paddies and rice-paddy-converted freshwater crayfish–fish aquaculture ponds that had previously been rice paddies. The annual fluxes of CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes from inland crayfish–fish aquaculture averaged 0.36 mg m −2 h −1 and 45.55 μg m −2 h −1 , which amounted to 31.50 kg CH 4 ha −1 and 3.99 kg N 2 O ha −1 , respectively. Compared with traditional rice paddies, such conversions significantly reduced the emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O emissions by 46.4% and 67.5%, respectively, but greatly increased the net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB) by 485%. The fluxes of both CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes from aquaculture ponds were positively correlated with water/sediment temperature and dissolved organic carbon in the sediment, but were negatively correlated with the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved in the water. In addition, the emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O were closely associated with the chemical oxygen demand of water and the content of N in the sediment, respectively. The results of this study suggest that converting rice paddies to freshwater crayfish–fish aquaculture ponds could cause a reduction in the impacts on the climate and result in greater economic benefits. There is an urgent need worldwide for more field studies on the emissions of CH 4 and N 2 O emissions from aquaculture ponds, including more types of fish species and management practices. These results will help researchers to comprehensively evaluate whether such conversions of agricultural land use are ecologically and economically feasible.

Keywords: rice paddy; aquaculture; CH 4; N 2 O; NEEB (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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