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Research article2015Peer reviewedOpen access

Pollinators, pests and soil properties interactively shape oilseed rape yield

Bartomeus, Ignasi; Gagic, Vesna; Bommarco, Riccardo

Abstract

Pollination, pest control, and soil properties are well known to affect agricultural production. These factors might interactively shape crop yield, but most studies focus on only one of these factors at a time. We used 15 winter oilseed rape (Brass/co napus L.) fields in Sweden to study how variation among fields in pollinator visitation rates, pollen beetle attack rates and soil properties (soil texture, pH and organic carbon) interactively determined crop yield. The fields were embedded in a landscape gradient with contrasting proportions of arable and semi-natural land. In general, pollinator visitation and pest levels were negatively correlated and varied independently of soil properties. This may reflect that above- and below-ground processes react at landscape and local spatial scales, respectively. The above-ground biotic interactions and below-ground abiotic factors interactively affected crop yield. Pollinator visitation was the strongest predictor positively associated with yield. High soil pH also benefited yield, but only at tower pest loads. Surprisingly, high pest loads increased the pollinator benefits for yield. Implementing management plans at different spatial scales can create synergies among above- and below-ground ecosystem processes, hut both scales are needed given that different processes react al different sptitial scales.

Keywords

Ecosystem services; Above- and below-ground process-s; Pollination; Pollen beetles; Oilseed rape; Soil organic carbon; pH

Published in

Basic and Applied Ecology
2015, Volume: 16, number: 8, pages: 737-745
Publisher: ELSEVIER GMBH, URBAN & FISCHER VERLAG

      SLU Authors

    • Bartomeus, Ignacio

        • Associated SLU-program

        SLU Plant Protection Network

        UKÄ Subject classification

        Ecology

        Publication identifier

        DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2015.07.004

        Permanent link to this page (URI)

        https://res.slu.se/id/publ/69930