Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores
Weeds are considered a major pest for crops, and as such have been intensively managed by farmers. However, weeds, by providing resources, also support farmland biodiversity. The challenge for sustainable weed management is therefore to maintain weed diversity without compromising crop production. M...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2131 |
| _version_ | 1827678755319971840 |
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| author | Adrien Berquer Olivier Martin Sabrina Gaba |
| author_facet | Adrien Berquer Olivier Martin Sabrina Gaba |
| author_sort | Adrien Berquer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Weeds are considered a major pest for crops, and as such have been intensively managed by farmers. However, weeds, by providing resources, also support farmland biodiversity. The challenge for sustainable weed management is therefore to maintain weed diversity without compromising crop production. Meeting this challenge requires determining the processes that shape weed assemblages, and how agricultural practices and landscape arrangement affect them. In this study, we assess the effects of crop competition on weeds, nitrogen input, weed control and landscape on both weed diversity and abundance in the margins and centres of 115 oilseed rape fields in Western France. We show that weed assemblages in field cores were mainly shaped by crop height, a proxy of crop competition. By contrast, weed assemblages in field margins increased with the number of meadows in the landscape, revealing the role of spatial dispersal. Using structural equation modelling, we further show that in the field core, weed assemblages were also indirectly shaped by landscape through spatial dispersal from the field margin. Overall, our study gives empirical support for crop competition as a way to reduce the intensity of chemical weeding, and for meadows as a way to enhance biodiversity in the landscape. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-95030ecc58f54c89ab3ad17f698c0841 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:15:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-95030ecc58f54c89ab3ad17f698c08412023-11-22T19:44:18ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-10-011010213110.3390/plants10102131Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field CoresAdrien Berquer0Olivier Martin1Sabrina Gaba2Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372, CNRS & La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, FranceUR 0546 Biostatistiques et Processus Spatiaux, INRAE, CEDEX 9, 84914 Avignon, FranceCentre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372, CNRS & La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, FranceWeeds are considered a major pest for crops, and as such have been intensively managed by farmers. However, weeds, by providing resources, also support farmland biodiversity. The challenge for sustainable weed management is therefore to maintain weed diversity without compromising crop production. Meeting this challenge requires determining the processes that shape weed assemblages, and how agricultural practices and landscape arrangement affect them. In this study, we assess the effects of crop competition on weeds, nitrogen input, weed control and landscape on both weed diversity and abundance in the margins and centres of 115 oilseed rape fields in Western France. We show that weed assemblages in field cores were mainly shaped by crop height, a proxy of crop competition. By contrast, weed assemblages in field margins increased with the number of meadows in the landscape, revealing the role of spatial dispersal. Using structural equation modelling, we further show that in the field core, weed assemblages were also indirectly shaped by landscape through spatial dispersal from the field margin. Overall, our study gives empirical support for crop competition as a way to reduce the intensity of chemical weeding, and for meadows as a way to enhance biodiversity in the landscape.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2131agroecologycompetitiondispersallandscapeoilseed rapesustainable weed management |
| spellingShingle | Adrien Berquer Olivier Martin Sabrina Gaba Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores Plants agroecology competition dispersal landscape oilseed rape sustainable weed management |
| title | Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores |
| title_full | Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores |
| title_fullStr | Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores |
| title_full_unstemmed | Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores |
| title_short | Landscape Is the Main Driver of Weed Assemblages in Field Margins but Is Outperformed by Crop Competition in Field Cores |
| title_sort | landscape is the main driver of weed assemblages in field margins but is outperformed by crop competition in field cores |
| topic | agroecology competition dispersal landscape oilseed rape sustainable weed management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2131 |
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