Development of best-practices for conserving beneficial insects within Iowa's agricultural landscape

Abstract

Native plants attractive to beneficial insects may improve the value of buffer strips by contributing to local biodiversity and enhancing the delivery of insect-derived ecosystem services. To determine best management practices for designing buffer strips that conserve beneficial insects, nine plant communities were evaluated. We hypothesized that the diversity and abundance of beneficial insects will be: (1) greatest in diverse plant communities with continuous availability of floral resources; (2) intermediate in plant communities with reduced plant species richness and availability of floral resources; and, (3) lowest in plant communities composed of a single species. More diverse and abundant beneficial insect communities were observed in diverse and forb-only plant communities compared to simple plant communities, especially in treatments composed of species attractive to beneficial insects compared to compositions recommended for prairie restoration. Model comparisons revealed significant positive relationships between the diversity and abundance of beneficial guilds with plant