Abstract
A growing interest in the cultivation of non-food crops on marginal lands has been observed in recent years in Poland. Marginal lands are a refuge of agroecosystems biodiversity. The impact of the cultivation of perennial industrial plants on the biodiversity of weeds and arthropods have been assessed in this study. The biodiversity monitoring study, carried out for three years, included five perennial crops: miscanthus Miscanthus × giganteus, cup plant Silphium perfoliatum, black locust Robinia pseudoacacia, poplar Populus × maximowiczii, and willow Salix viminalis. As a control area, uncultivated fallow land was chosen. The experiment was set up in eastern Poland. A decrease in plant diversity was found for miscanthus and black locust. The diversity of arthropods was the lowest for the cup plant. No decrease in the number of melliferous plants and pollinators was observed, except for the miscanthus. The biodiversity of plants and arthropods was affected by the intensity of mechanical treatments, the fertilization dose, and the use of herbicides. The biodiversity also decreased with the age of plantation.
Highlights
There are many commonly accepted definitions of marginal lands
Literature study shows that cultivation technology and the intensification of agrotechnical treatments significantly impact biodiversity [4,5,6,7,8]. It is not certain whether the same mechanical and chemical treatments will have a similar effect on marginal lands as on other agricultural lands. These uncertainties were the foundations of the third hypothesis (H3 ): The level of biodiversity of fauna and flora will depend on the intensity of agricultural management practices of perennial industrial crops cultivated on marginal lands
The results indicate that weed diversity of willow, poplar, and cup plant is lower than the control object, but the differences are low (Table 2)
Summary
There are many commonly accepted definitions of marginal (fallow) lands. This category includes a wide range of lands that historically has been used for agricultural purposes, but for some reason, their cultivation has been abandoned. Literature study shows that cultivation technology and the intensification of agrotechnical treatments significantly impact biodiversity [4,5,6,7,8] It is not certain whether the same mechanical and chemical treatments will have a similar effect on marginal lands as on other agricultural lands. These uncertainties were the foundations of the third hypothesis (H3 ): The level of biodiversity of fauna and flora will depend on the intensity of agricultural management practices of perennial industrial crops cultivated on marginal lands
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