A multi-scale, landscape approach to predicting insect populations in agroecosystems

Abstract

Landscape composition affects ecosystems services, including agricultural pest management. However, relationships between land use and agricultural insects are not well understood, and many complexities remain to be explored. Here we examine whether nonagricultural landscapes can directly suppress agricultural pests, how multiple spatial scales of land use concurrently affect insect populations, and the relationships between regional land use and insect populations. We tracked densities of three specialist corn (Zea mays) pests (Ostrinia nubilalis, European corn borer; Diabrotica virgifera, western corn rootworm; Diabrotica barberi, northern corn rootworm), and two generalist predator lady beetles (Coleomegilla maculata and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata) in field corn and determined their relationships to agricultural land use at three spatial scales (field perimeter, 1-km, and 20-km radius areas). Pest densities were either higher (D. virgifera and D. barberi) or unchanged (O. nubilalis) in landscapes with more corn, while natural enemy densities were either lower (C. maculata) or unchanged (P. quatuordecimpunctata). Results for D. virgifera and D. barberi indicate that decreasing the area of preferred crop in the landscape can directly suppress specialist insect pests. Multiple scales of land use affected populations of D. virgifera and C. maculata, and D. virgifera populations showed strong relationships with regional, 20-km-scale land use. These results suggest that farm planning and government policies aimed at diversifying local and regional agricultural landscapes show promise for increasing biological control and directly suppressing agricultural pests.