title: Impact of fertilizing pattern on the biodiversity of a weed community and wheat growth.
abstract: Weeding and fertilization are important farming practices. Integrated weed management should protect or improve the biodiversity of farmland weed communities for a better ecological environment with not only increased crop yield, but also reduced use of herbicides. This study hypothesized that appropriate fertilization would benefit both crop growth and the biodiversity of farmland weed communities. To study the effects of different fertilizing patterns on the biodiversity of a farmland weed community and their adaptive mechanisms, indices of species diversity and responses of weed species and wheat were investigated in a 17-year field trial with a winter wheat-soybean rotation. This long term field trial includes six fertilizing treatments with different N, P and K application rates. The results indicated that wheat and the four prevalent weed species (Galium aparine, Vicia sativa, Veronica persica and Geranium carolinianum) showed different responses to fertilizer treatment in terms of density, plant height, shoot biomass, and nutrient accumulations. Each individual weed population exhibited its own adaptive mechanisms, such as increased internode length for growth advantages and increased light interception. The PK treatment had higher density, shoot biomass, Shannon-Wiener and Pielou Indices of weed community than N plus P fertilizer treatments. The N1/2PK treatment showed the same weed species number as the PK treatment. It also showed higher Shannon-Wiener and Pielou Indices of the weed community, although it had a lower wheat yield than the NPK treatment. The negative effects of the N1/2PK treatment on wheat yield could be balanced by the simultaneous positive effects on weed communities, which are intermediate in terms of the effects on wheat and weeds.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China ; Hainan Modern Agriculture Inspection and Testing Precaution & Control Center, Agricultural Department of Hainan Province, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: Leilei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Chuanpeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China ; Ecological Restoration (ECORES) Lab, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Kaiyuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Science, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Ruhai
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Fertilizer Science, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Daozhong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Aquatic Botany and Watershed Ecology, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China ; China Program of International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D005308:Fertilizers; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors; D014908:Triticum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers