Ecologically-oriented business strategy for a small-size rice farm: Integrated wetland management for the improvement of environmental benefits and economic feasibility

ties. As productive man-made wetlands, rice paddies are strategic and economic components in the habitat provision for migratory wildlife at the European scale. However, the characteristic of being a temporary wetland causes the creation of an ecological trap for a number of living organisms. For this reason, agricultural practices adopted for the management of rice paddies are essential to move towards more sustainable cultivations capable of promoting biodiversity and to minimising negative environmental impacts. This study proposes an ecologically-oriented strategy to implement a circular and self-regulating farming system designed considering the role of constructed wetlands in providing ecosystem services in rice agroecosystems. It demonstrates the economic feasibility and benefits provided by a self-regulating biosystem based on an integrated wetland for a small-size rice farm of the Vercelli province (Piedmont Region, Italy). The study was conducted in collaboration with the rice farm, which already experiments with organic farming techniques. The investigation focuses on the current management structure of the farm and develops an ecologically-oriented business strategy to sustain local biodiversity. This strategy rediscovers and improves the traditional co-culture technique through the development of a permanent pond. It explores the potential benefits generated by the approach, in terms of biodiversity conservation, biological control of pests and weeds and habitat provision for wildlife. The study presents a real case study of economic sustainability of the business strategy through financial analysis. The findings highlight promising economic outcomes compared to the conventional rice cultivation systems. The

Automated summary

This study proposes an ecologically-oriented strategy for rice agroecosystems, aiming to promote sustainability and biodiversity conservation. The findings show that implementing a self-regulating biosystem based on integrated wetlands in a small-size rice farm in Italy can lead to promising economic outcomes compared to conventional rice cultivation systems.