Abstract
Non-crop cultivated plants can provide agriculture with ecosystem services such as biological pest control and, a sound knowledge of the relationships between these plants and arthropod communities is important. Given its entomophilous characteristics, Dittrichia viscosa, a plant commonly found in the Mediterranean region, could potentially be used in integrated pest management systems. The aim of this study is to investigate arthropofauna associated with D. viscosa in olive groves during its preflowering, flowering and postflowering stages and to determine the possible relationships between different groups of arthropods. Using vacuum-sampling, the study was carried out on D. viscosa plants bordering and inside olive groves. The plants produced new leaves in April and flowered between August and October. Miridae, Aphididae, Hymenoptera parasitoids, Formicidae, Araneae and Aleyrodidae were the most abundant groups of arthropods collected during the preflowering and flowering stages. Plant phenology differentially influenced the arthropod populations of the different groups, with the Aleyrodidae family found to be more abundant during the preflowering stage, while Hymenoptera parasitoids were more numerous during the flowering stage. During the postflowering stage, the number of arthropods captured was very low. Numerous correlations between and within the different functional groups were observed throughout the life cycle of D. viscosa. Our results clearly show that D. viscosa plants in olive groves have great potential as a reservoir of different predators and Hymenoptera parasitoids and that these olive groves were not attacked by any D. viscosa-related phytophages.
Highlights
The intensification of agriculture has led to a simplification of the landscape and a reduction in biodiversity, which have affected various ecosystem services, such as natural pest control and pollination (Zhang et al, 2007)
We studied the most abundant groups of arthropods (Aphididae, Aleyrodidae, Araneae, Formicidae, Miridae and Hymenoptera parasitoids), which accounted for 89.5% (2,012 individuals) of total captures
We found positive correlations between Aleyrodidae and Araneae (Pearson cor = 41, p < 0.05), between Araneae and Formicidae (Pearson cor = 0.64, p < 0.001) and Miridae (Pearson cor = 0.6, p < 0.001) and between Miridae and Hymenoptera parasitoids (Pearson cor = 0.47, p < 0.01)
Summary
The intensification of agriculture has led to a simplification of the landscape and a reduction in biodiversity, which have affected various ecosystem services, such as natural pest control and pollination (Zhang et al, 2007). The agroecological strategy of habitat management could help to reverse this situation by enhancing conservation biological control, as the presence of semi-natural habitats increases landscape diversity and supplies resources (pollen, nectar, alternative hosts, refuge, and oviposition sites) to natural enemies and pollinators which provide these ecosystem services (Landis et al, 2000; Bianchi et al, 2006; Holland et al, 2016, 2017). As the effect of landscape and vegetation on arthropod populations (pests and natural enemies) is based on Dittrichia viscosa in Olive Groves complex mechanisms, the conditions that contribute to increasing and reducing biological control need to be investigated. Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter (Asterales: Asteraceae) is a plant of considerable interest, given its distribution throughout the Mediterranean region, its adaptation to a wide range of stress conditions, and its various uses including phytoremediation, as well as its role as a bioaccumulator and bioindicator (Parolin et al, 2014). It is worth noting that D. viscosa can boost the presence of phytophages, such as whiteflies (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) (Parolin et al, 2013) and can act as a reservoir of tomato infectious chlorosis viruses (Orfanidou et al, 2016)
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