Abstract
Many bird species rely on the ecological functions of rice field habitats (e.g., paddy, levee, road, and ditch). However, recent intensive practices are causing rice fields to provide fewer suitable habitats. This study examined bird habitat usage and how it is affected by cultivation methods (e.g., eco-friendly vs conventional fields). Eco-friendly and conventional rice fields in the midwestern region of the Republic of Korea were surveyed from January 2014 to December 2016, and the species presence, number of birds, and locations of observed habitats were recorded. It was found that shorebirds and herons used more eco-friendly rice paddies with lower or no pesticide and/or herbicide use, while waterfowl used paddy habitats more than the other habitats, regardless of the amounts of pesticides and/or herbicides used. Land birds used ditches or roads in conventional rice fields more than those in fields that used pesticides and/or herbicides. Pesticide and/or herbicide use affected bird taxonomic groups differently. Consequently, the use of habitats by different bird taxonomic groups varied depending on the crop cultivation as well as the cultivation methods. These results provided valuable information for managing rice fields, which serve as habitats for birds.
Highlights
Rice fields are spatially monotonous[1,2], yet they provide valuable habitats for several species, including aquatic plants, benthic invertebrates, and v ertebrates[1,3]
We hypothesized that habitat use of shorebirds, herons, waterfowl and land birds are different according to microhabitat types in eco-friendly and conventional rice fields
The 36-month survey data were divided into four clusters using a self-organizing map based on the 113 bird species observed in the eco-friendly and conventional rice fields (Fig. 2)
Summary
Rice fields are spatially monotonous[1,2], yet they provide valuable habitats for several species, including aquatic plants, benthic invertebrates, and v ertebrates[1,3]. Rice fields can be structurally divided into paddy, levee, road, and ditch, with each component providing microhabitats with different ecological functions[6,18,19,20] Of these habitats, paddies account for the largest area and can support higher species richness and abundance than the other microhabitat types[21,22]. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of chemical substance usage among intensive practices (i.e., eco-friendly vs conventional) on different bird taxonomic groups using rice field microhabitats. We hypothesized that habitat use of shorebirds, herons, waterfowl and land birds are different according to microhabitat types (paddy, levees, ditches, and roads) in eco-friendly and conventional rice fields. We aimed to determine the (1) composition of the bird taxonomic groups using the rice fields and (2) differences in the microhabitat types used by the bird taxonomic groups in eco-friendly and conventional fields to broaden our understanding of the habitat structure and usage patterns of bird taxonomic groups in rice fields
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