Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields
Agricultural intensification is one of the major drivers of biotic homogenization and has multiple levels ranging from within-field management intensity to landscape-scale simplification. The enhancement of invertebrate assemblages by establishing new, semi-natural habitats, such as set-aside fields...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2020-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/8746.pdf |
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| author | Zoltán Elek Jana Růžičková Réka Ádám Krisztina Bereczki Gergely Boros Ferenc Kádár Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki László Somay Ottó Szalkovszki András Báldi |
| author_facet | Zoltán Elek Jana Růžičková Réka Ádám Krisztina Bereczki Gergely Boros Ferenc Kádár Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki László Somay Ottó Szalkovszki András Báldi |
| author_sort | Zoltán Elek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural intensification is one of the major drivers of biotic homogenization and has multiple levels ranging from within-field management intensity to landscape-scale simplification. The enhancement of invertebrate assemblages by establishing new, semi-natural habitats, such as set-aside fields can improve biological pest control in adjacent crops, and mitigate the adverse effect of biotic homogenization. In this study we aimed to examine the effects of ecological intensification in winter wheat fields in Hungary. We tested how pests and their natural enemies were affected at different spatial scales by landscape composition (proportion of semi-natural habitats in the surrounding matrix), configuration (presence of adjacent set-aside fields), and local field management practices, such as fertilizer (NPK) applications without applying insecticides. We demonstrated that at the local scale, decreased fertilizer usage had no direct effect either on pests or their natural enemies. Higher landscape complexity and adjacent semi-natural habitats seem to be the major drivers of decreasing aphid abundance, suggesting that these enhanced the predatory insect assemblages. Additionally, the high yield in plots with no adjacent set-aside fields suggests that intensive management can compensate for the lower yields on the extensive plots. Our results demonstrated that although complexity at the landscape scale was crucial for maintaining invertebrate assemblages, divergence in their response to pests and pathogens could also be explained by different dispersal abilities. Although the landscape attributes acted as dispersal filters in the organization of pest and pathogen assemblages in croplands, the presence of set-aside fields negatively influenced aphid abundance due to their between-field isolation effect. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:08:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c6b2699bf7346c596654c3afcb1dddc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:08:28Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c6b2699bf7346c596654c3afcb1dddc2023-12-03T09:21:07ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-03-018e874610.7717/peerj.8746Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fieldsZoltán Elek0Jana Růžičková1Réka Ádám2Krisztina Bereczki3Gergely Boros4Ferenc Kádár5Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki6László Somay7Ottó Szalkovszki8András Báldi9Biological Institute, MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter Sétány, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, HungaryBiological Institute, MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter Sétány, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, HungaryGINOP Sustainable Ecosystems Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Tihany, HungaryPlant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, HungaryDepartment of Botany, National Biodiversity and Gene Conservation Center, Tápiószele, HungaryInstitute of Ecology and Botany, Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, HungaryAgricultural intensification is one of the major drivers of biotic homogenization and has multiple levels ranging from within-field management intensity to landscape-scale simplification. The enhancement of invertebrate assemblages by establishing new, semi-natural habitats, such as set-aside fields can improve biological pest control in adjacent crops, and mitigate the adverse effect of biotic homogenization. In this study we aimed to examine the effects of ecological intensification in winter wheat fields in Hungary. We tested how pests and their natural enemies were affected at different spatial scales by landscape composition (proportion of semi-natural habitats in the surrounding matrix), configuration (presence of adjacent set-aside fields), and local field management practices, such as fertilizer (NPK) applications without applying insecticides. We demonstrated that at the local scale, decreased fertilizer usage had no direct effect either on pests or their natural enemies. Higher landscape complexity and adjacent semi-natural habitats seem to be the major drivers of decreasing aphid abundance, suggesting that these enhanced the predatory insect assemblages. Additionally, the high yield in plots with no adjacent set-aside fields suggests that intensive management can compensate for the lower yields on the extensive plots. Our results demonstrated that although complexity at the landscape scale was crucial for maintaining invertebrate assemblages, divergence in their response to pests and pathogens could also be explained by different dispersal abilities. Although the landscape attributes acted as dispersal filters in the organization of pest and pathogen assemblages in croplands, the presence of set-aside fields negatively influenced aphid abundance due to their between-field isolation effect.https://peerj.com/articles/8746.pdfAphidsEcosystem servicesInorganic fertilizerPathogensSet-aside field |
| spellingShingle | Zoltán Elek Jana Růžičková Réka Ádám Krisztina Bereczki Gergely Boros Ferenc Kádár Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki László Somay Ottó Szalkovszki András Báldi Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields PeerJ Aphids Ecosystem services Inorganic fertilizer Pathogens Set-aside field |
| title | Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| title_full | Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| title_fullStr | Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| title_short | Mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers: a short-term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| title_sort | mixed effects of ecological intensification on natural pest control providers a short term study for biotic homogenization in winter wheat fields |
| topic | Aphids Ecosystem services Inorganic fertilizer Pathogens Set-aside field |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/8746.pdf |
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