2024 Volume 80 Issue 26 Article ID: 24-26006
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of pesticide usage on aquatic biota by comparing the biomass of aquatic organisms in fields practicing reduced pesticide farming and conventional farming in lotus root fields in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture. Surveys were conducted four times each from May toAugust 2023 using bottle sampling and scoop-net sampling systems.The analysis results showed no significant differences in the biomass of zooplankton and organisms sampled by scoop-net and bottle sampling systems between farming systems. However, significant differences were observed in the biomass of Fejervarya limnocharis and Procambrus clakii between farming systems or season in reduced pesticide farming.This suggests that reduced pesticide farming may have a positive effect on certain species, but no overall recovery effect was observed in the community. Since reduced pesticide farming has been practiced for only five years, it is suggested that the lack of recovery in biodiversity may be due to the relatively short duration of the practice.
