Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2016
Agricultural landscape simplification reduces natural pest control: A quantitative synthesis
Rusch, Adrien; Winqvist, Camilla; Bommarco, RiccardoAbstract
Numerous studies show that landscape simplification reduces abundance and diversity of natural enemies in agroecosystems, but its effect on natural pest control remains poorly quantified. Further, natural enemy impacts on pest populations have usually been estimated for a limited number of taxa and have not considered interactions among predator species. In a quantitative synthesis with data collected from several cropping systems in Europe and North America, we analyzed how the level and within-field spatial stability of natural pest control services was related to the simplification of the surrounding landscape. All studies used aphids as a model species and exclusion cages to measure aphid pest control. Landscape simplification was quantified by the proportion of cultivated land within a 1 km radius around each plot. We found a consistent negative effect of landscape simplification on the level of natural pest control, despite interactions among enemies. Average level of pest control was 46% lower in homogeneous landscapes dominated by cultivated land, as compared with more complex landscapes. Landscape simplification did not affect the amount of positive or negative interactions among ground dwelling and vegetation-dwelling predators, or the within-field stability of pest control. Our synthesis demonstrates that agricultural intensification through landscape simplification has negative effects on the level of natural pest control with important implications for management to maintain and enhance ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. Specifically, preserving and restoring semi-natural habitats emerges as a fundamental first step to maintain and enhance pest control services provided by predatory arthropods to agriculture. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords
Crop protection; Biological control; Arthropods intraguild predation; Ecosystem services; Landscape management; Spatial stabilityPublished in
Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment2016, volume: 221, pages: 198-204
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Authors' information
Rusch, Adrien
National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA)
Winqvist, Camilla
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
Associated SLU-program
SLU Network Plant Protection
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Ecology
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.01.039
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/76214