Beijing Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Organic Farming, Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Institute of Soils, Fertilizers and Water-saving Agriculture, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730070, China.
Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 15;8(1):3110. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-21414-w.
Intercropping studies usually focus on yield advantage and interspecific interactions but few quantify temporal niche differentiation and its relationship with intercropping yield advantage. A field experiment conducted in northwest China in 2013 and 2014 examined four intercropping systems (oilseed rape/maize, oilseed rape/soybean, potato/maize, and soybean/potato) and the corresponding monocultures. Total dry matter data collected every 20 d after maize emergence were fitted to logistic models to investigate the temporal dynamics of crop growth and interspecific interactions. All four intercropping systems showed significant yield advantages. Temporal niche complementarity between intercropped species was due to differences in sowing and harvesting dates or the time taken to reach maximum daily growth rate or both. Interspecific interactions between intercropped species amplified temporal niche differentiation as indicated by postponement of the time taken to reach maximum daily growth rate of late-maturing crops (i.e. 21 to 41 days in maize associated with oilseed rape or potato). Growth trajectories of intercropped maize or soybean recovered after the oilseed rape harvest to the same values as in their monoculture on a per plant basis. Amplified niche differentiation between crop species depends on the identity of neighboring species whose relative growth rate is crucial in determining the differentiation.
间作研究通常侧重于产量优势和种间相互作用，但很少量化时间生态位分化及其与间作产量优势的关系。2013 年和 2014 年在中国西北地区进行的田间试验检验了四种间作系统（油菜/玉米、油菜/大豆、马铃薯/玉米和大豆/马铃薯）和相应的单作。在玉米出苗后每 20 天收集一次总干物质数据，并将其拟合到逻辑斯蒂模型中，以研究作物生长和种间相互作用的时间动态。所有四种间作系统均表现出显著的产量优势。种间间作的时间生态位互补性是由于播种和收获日期的差异或达到最大日生长率所需的时间或两者的差异造成的。种间相互作用放大了时间生态位分化，表现为晚熟作物（如与油菜或马铃薯相关的玉米）达到最大日生长率所需的时间推迟（即 21 至 41 天）。间作玉米或大豆的生长轨迹在油菜收获后恢复到单作的基础上相同的每株值。作物种间的生态位分化加剧取决于相邻物种的身份，其相对生长率是决定分化的关键。
