Aphid Assemblages Associated with Urban Park Plant Communities

Some aphid species are important agricultural pests, sometimes also found on plants growing in urban areas. In this work, we set out to identify the plant species, communities or habitats that are more attractive to aphids in order to limit their spread into new green areas. The aim of the study was...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tadeusz Barczak, Janina Bennewicz, Maciej Korczyński, Małgorzata Błażejewicz-Zawadzińska, Hanna Piekarska-Boniecka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Insects
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/2/173
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Summary:Some aphid species are important agricultural pests, sometimes also found on plants growing in urban areas. In this work, we set out to identify the plant species, communities or habitats that are more attractive to aphids in order to limit their spread into new green areas. The aim of the study was to determine and compare plant communities and the assemblages of aphids associated with them in different urban park habitats. The research hypothesis assumed that the differences between aphid assemblages depend on plant diversity and hence reflect urban park habitat environmental conditions, in particular the plant communities and the floral structure. The study was carried out in Bydgoszcz (northern Poland), and four parks were taken into consideration. Herein, floristic lists were used to calculate ecological indicator values for each park. The aphid species richness was determined, as well as the relative abundance and dominance structure similarities of the aphid assemblages. Our results demonstrated that <i>Prunus</i> spp. were strongly infested by <i>Hyalopterus pruni</i>, similarly as <i>Philadelphus inodorus</i> by <i>Aphis fabae</i>, <i>Sambucus nigra</i> by <i>Aphis sambuci</i>, and <i>Acer</i><i>platanoides</i> and <i>A. pseudoplatanus</i> by <i>Periphyllus testudinaceus</i>. Park plantations of <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> were not very attractive to aphids. The most attractive plant communities to aphids were syntaxonomically identifiable as alluvial alder forests in the layer of trees and <i>Cornus sanguinea</i> in the layer of shrubs.
ISSN:2075-4450