Gradient of decline of epigeic arthropods depending on ecotone distance and seasonal dynamics in agriculturally used land

New services and roles of biodiversity in modern agroecosystems: A review

The taxonomic level order as a possible tool for rapid assessment of Arthropod diversity in agricultural landscapes

Factors acting at various scales may affect biodiversity, demanding analyses at multiple spatial scales to understand how community richness is determined. Here, a hierarchical approach was used to test the contribution of region, landscape heterogeneity, local management (organic vs. conventional) to the species richness and abundance of arthropods in cereals. The study was conducted in three regions of Western and Central Germany: Leine Bergland, Soester Boerde and Lahn-Dill Bergland. 54 paired organic and conventional winter wheat fields were compared. Field pairs were located in areas ranging from structurally simple to structurally complex landscapes. In spring and summer 2003 epigeic insects were sampled using pitfall traps and the insect community of thistles Cirsium arvense was monitored using experimental thistle plots. Linear mixed models were used to determine the relationship between diversity and abundance of arthropods and the spatial factors region, landscape heterogeneity, as well as local management and location within field. Landscape heterogeneity was a significant predictor of diversity for spiders and thistle herbivores, while organic management positively affected both detritivorous staphylinid beetles and thistle herbivores. More species of epigeic arthropods were found in field edges and in heterogeneous landscapes. Analyses of beta diversity showed similar patterns as those conducted for alpha diversity. In addition the importance of beta diversity depended on taxon and decreased with dispersal ability. Our study suggests that organic farming benefits some arthropod groups but not others, and that promoting heterogeneity in land use at landscape scales is one of the keys to increase biodiversity in agroecosystems.

Tibraca limbativentris (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a major pest in Neotropical rice agroecosystems. In autumn-winter, this pest takes refuge in rice stubble and in native vegetation, which allows it to re-colonize the crop during the rice growing season. However, it is still unknown whether this vegetation is a pest sink or is actually a natural trap that contributes to pest population biocontrol. Here we present information on the insect's alternative host plants, a preliminary outline of the relationship between plant phylogeny and insect abundance, and the impact that winter natural enemies have in pest population. Also, we include a proposed methodology for pest density analysis in winter hosts. Our results show significant differences in the abundance/density that T. limbativentris reaches in the 12 host plant species present in our study areas, with a plant-use pattern significantly related to the phylogenetic clade of Poales. Stink bug winter populations mainly comprised diapause adults, and 40% of insect digestive tracts had content. Survival of T. limbativentris was 56.92% in winter hosts. About mortality, 10% was due to undetermined causes and 33.08% due to entomopathogenic fungi, showing a natural regulation of the pest population. Our results suggest that native vegetation impacts winter survival of T. limbativentris. Although these plants offer shelter, they offer a greater contribution to Integrated Pest Management: the natural regulation of winter pest populations through entomopathogenic attack. Further studies on T. limbativentris population dynamics and the preservation of native areas near rice fields will be required for the development of best control practices.

Biodiversity is an increasingly important aspect of wine production. The assessment of agro-ecosystem biodiversity is highly complex due to the heterogeneity of the elements involved in the evaluation. For this reason, wine companies have expressed a need for a decision support system (DSS) capable of dealing with this complexity, integrating assessments referring to the whole production system within a single tool. In this study a DSS developed for wine sector biodiversity management assessment is introduced. The DSS, called BIOPASS®, is made up of different sections relating to three compartments in the winemaking process (the soil, the vine and wine). Assessment of the physical, chemical and biological components of soil is a key element of the DSS. We investigate the relationship between biological soil quality (represented by the QBS-ar index), environmental conditions and the type of farming (organic or conventional). 70 soil samples were analysed in different Italian viticultural contexts. The model highlighted the relationships between QBS-ar and meteorological variables (air temperature and precipitation) as well as a positive relationship with organic farming systems. These results provide useful information for understanding agroecosystem biodiversity and will be integrated within the DSS for assessment of soil quality.

Natural enemies, including predators, parasitoids, and pathogens, play a crucial role in the regulation of pest populations within agricultural ecosystems. This review examines the role of these biological control agents in maintaining the health and productivity of crop systems, with a specific focus on rice and cotton. In rice ecosystems, natural enemies such as spiders, dragonflies, and various insect parasitoids help manage pest populations like the rice stem borer and the planthopper. Similarly, in cotton crops, natural predators and parasitoids contribute to the control of key pests including the cotton bollworm and aphids. By integrating these natural enemies into pest management strategies, farmers can reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, enhance biodiversity, and promote sustainable agriculture. This review highlights the mechanisms through which these natural enemies operate, the benefits they provide to crop ecosystems, and case studies illustrating successful applications. The major emphasis is placed on understanding the interactions between these biological control agents and their environments, and how these relationships can be optimized to support resilient crop production systems and to manage these pests in cotton and rice crops.

FunBies, a model for integrated assessment of functional biodiversity of weed communities in agro-ecosystem

不同干扰背景下景观指数与物种多样性的多尺度效应——以巩义市为例

Loss of rainforest because of agricultural and urban development may impact the abundance and diversity of species that are rainforest natives. Tropical fruit flies are one group of such organisms indigenous to rainforests. In southeast Queensland, a region subject to rapid urbanization, we assessed the impact of habitat disturbance on the distribution and abundance of native fruit flies. Data on four species (Bactrocera tryoni, Bactrocera neohumeralis, Bactrocera chorista, and Dacus aequalis) were gathered and analyzed over 6 months in three habitat types: suburbia, open sclerophyll forest, and rainforest. We also analyzed the data at a combined “dacine fruit fly” level incorporating all fruit fly species trapped over the period of study (as might occur in a biodiversity assessment): these included the four species already named and Bactrocera melas, Bactrocera bryoniae, Bactrocera newmani, and Dacus absonifacies. Analysis at the species level showed that the polyphagous pest species responded differently to the monophagous species. Bactrocera tryoni, which has more exotic than native hosts, was positively affected by transformation of natural habitat into suburbia whereas B. neohumeralis, which has nearly identical numbers of native and exotic hosts, was found equally across habitat types. Bactrocera chorista and Dacus aequalis, each monophagous on a species‐specific rainforest host plant, were most abundant in rainforest. The analysis based on the combined data suggests that replacing rainforest with suburbia has a neutral, or even positive, effect on the abundance of fruit flies as a whole. At the species level, however, it can be seen that this is an erroneous conclusion biased by the abundance of a single pest species. Our discussion raises the issue of analyses at supraspecific levels in biodiversity and impact assessment studies.

Soil is an irreplaceable natural resource that enables the production of food and raw materials, forms agricultural and forest landscapes, filters and maintains water, ensures the cycle of substances in the ecosystem and contributes to maintaining biodiversity. Agricultural intensification is one of the most important factors for biodiversity loss. Spatial dispersion of epigeic arthropods reflects the ecological status of habitats and points to its quality. The aim of our research was to point out the differences in epigeic arthropod diversity in the examined crops Triticum aestivum, T. spelta and the influence of their ecotones on epigeic arthropods. Between the years 2019 to 2021 an investigation using the pitfall trap method recorded 5,232 individuals belonging to 13 taxonomic groups. The crop T. aestivum was represented by 2493 individuals and 13 taxa while in T. spelta we recorded 2739 individuals and 11 taxa. We observed significantly more taxa in the crop T. aestivum than in the crop T. spelta. We also confirmed the ecotone rule only for the T. aestivum crop. We confirmed the significant influence of crops and environmental variables (pH, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen) on the spatial dispersion of individuals around pitfall traps. On the basis of our results, both ecological farming and their ecotone systems are important for epigeic arthropods and with topical and trophic conditions, which is important for the production of biomass and also affects crop. In any anthropogenic activity, it is important to give priority to less invasive procedures with non-toxic effects on organisms and to use effective technologies in land management.

‘Theory without practice is fantasy, practice without theory is chaos’ (abridged from a forgotton author).

The co-occurrence of different antagonists on a plant can greatly affect infochemicals with ecological consequences for higher trophic levels. Here we investigated how the presence of a plant pathogen, the powdery mildew Erysiphe cruciferarum, on Brassica rapa affects (1) plant volatiles emitted in response to damage by a specialist herbivore, Pieris brassicae; (2) the attraction of the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata and (3) the performance of P. brassicae and C. glomerata. Plant volatiles were significantly induced by herbivory in both healthy and mildew-infected plants, but were quantitatively 41% lower for mildew-infected plants compared to healthy plants. Parasitoids strongly preferred Pieris-infested plants to dually-infested (Pieris + mildew) plants, and preferred dually infested plants over only mildew-infected plants. The performance of P. brassicae was unaffected by powdery mildew, but C. glomerata cocoon mass was reduced when parasitized caterpillars developed on mildew-infected plants. Thus, avoidance of mildew-infested plants may be adaptive for C. glomerata parasitoids, whereas P. brassicae caterpillars may suffer less parasitism on mildew-infected plants in nature. From a pest management standpoint, the concurrent presence of multiple plant antagonists can affect the efficiency of specific natural enemies, which may in turn have a negative impact on the regulation of pest populations.

Biocontrol fungi (BFs) play a key role in regulation of pest populations. BFs produce multiple non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs) and other secondary metabolites that interact with pests, plants and microorganisms. NRPs—including linear and cyclic peptides (L-NRPs and C-NRPs)—are small peptides frequently containing special amino acids and other organic acids. They are biosynthesized in fungi through non-ribosomal peptide synthases (NRPSs). Compared with C-NRPs, L-NRPs have simpler structures, with only a linear chain and biosynthesis without cyclization. BFs mainly include entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi, that are used to control insect pests and phytopathogens in fields, respectively. NRPs play an important role of in the interactions of BFs with insects or phytopathogens. On the other hand, the residues of NRPs may contaminate food through BFs activities in the environment. In recent decades, C-NRPs in BFs have been thoroughly reviewed. However, L-NRPs are rarely investigated. In order to better understand the species and potential problems of L-NRPs in BFs, this review lists the L-NRPs from entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi, summarizes their sources, structures, activities and biosynthesis, and details risks and utilization prospects.

Agro-ecologists opine that interaction between healthy soils and healthy plants is fundamental to agro-ecologically based pest management. They also encourage biodiversification as the primary technique to evoke regulation of pests sustainably. Besides regulation of pest populations through enhanced activity of biological-control agents, biodiversity performs a variety of ecological services including the production of food and recycling of nutrients in the agro-ecosystems. One of the simplest forms of biodiversification such as legume-based crop rotations can simultaneously optimize soil fertility and pest regulation. Crop rotations enhance yields by interrupting insect, disease, and weed life cycles. The microbiological activity of the soil (population of fungal and bacterial antagonists and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi that better resist pest attack) is also enhanced by crop rotations. Agro-ecologically based pest management makes full use of natural and cultural practices and methods, including host resistance and biological control. In order to stabilize the population of pest species throughout the food web, the new designs should concentrate on managing the farm environment through ecosystem enhancements (i.e., landscape ecology), crop attributes, or other means.

Managed ecosystems represent about 40 per cent of global terrestrial ecosystems, and their management impacts other ecosystems. This chapter explores the impacts of plant selection, tillage, application of agricultural chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides), application of organic materials (e.g., animal manure), and organic farming systems on soil biodiversity and on the provision of ecosystem services, and links between biodiversity and ecosystem services. Managing lands for economic production generally involves reducing plant diversity considerably compared to native systems, and substituting off-site inputs for ecosystem services provided in native systems, such as the provision of plant nutrients and regulation of pest populations. It is often assumed that such changes in ecosystem structure reduce soil biodiversity and thereby impact ecosystem services considerably. There are a few examples of this dynamic – in some cases, intensive tillage has been shown to eliminate earthworms, resulting in alteration of the hydrological cycle. However, impacts of management on soil biodiversity – other than reduced plant biodiversity – are often relatively subtle, and there is only limited evidence that these changes impact ecosystem function. Also, management impacts on ecosystem services are often independent of changes in soil biodiversity. These conclusions highlight the complex nature of soil biological communities and the challenges inherent in linking soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions in managed ecosystems. Further progress on exploring links between soil biodiversity and ecosystem function will require that we develop a better understanding of the functional traits of individual species and better understand how interactions among species impact ecosystem services.