Abstract
ABSTRACT One of the major ecosystem services delivered to agriculture worldwide is the reduction of pests by natural enemies. However, the landscape composition affects multiple dimensions of pest control, and non-crop habitat surrounding farm fields shows variable responses across geographies. Here, crop damage and pest abundance were compared between local farms with two antagonistic land cover and land use aspects (1- High conservation, landscape with high structural complexity; 2- High degradation, landscapes with low complexity). The field data were collected at experimental guava orchards in the Cariri Paraibano, one of the driest regions in the Brazilian Caatinga. The results show that damage caused by orthopterans and their abundance was significantly smaller in the landscape with high structural complexity. Therefore, the results support the hypothesis that crop damage and pest abundance are smaller in landscapes with high structural complexity. Additionally, the results are very important for the dryland regions as they provide information about the relationship between landscape structure and crop damage plus pest abundance in a regional gap. As drylands are critically endangered in all American continents, sustainable agricultural landscapes with the application of natural cover restoration can help drylands to achieve sustainable development.
Highlights
One of the major economic and environmental losses is the application of pesticides in croplands due to public health, pesticide resistance, crop losses, biodiversity losses because of pesticides, and groundwater contamination (OERKE, 2006; PIMENTEL, 2009)
Some syntheses and instances have demonstrated that non-crop habitats surrounding farm fields provide requisites for natural enemies, and, agricultural landscape complexity affects natural pest control positively and decreases crop damage (BALZAN; BOCCI; MOONEN, 2016; BIANCHI; BOOIJ; TSCHARNTKE, 2006; RUSCH et al, 2016; THIES; STEFFAN-DEWENTER; TSCHARNTKE, 2003; VERES et al, 2013)
The results support that crop damage and pest abundance are significantly smaller in landscapes with high structural complexity when compared to simple landscapes (BALZAN; BOCCI; MOONEN, 2016; BIANCHI; BOOIJ; TSCHARNTKE, 2006; THIES; STEFFAN-DEWENTER; TSCHARNTKE, 2003)
Summary
One of the major economic and environmental losses is the application of pesticides in croplands due to public health, pesticide resistance, crop losses, biodiversity losses because of pesticides, and groundwater contamination (OERKE, 2006; PIMENTEL, 2009). Some syntheses and instances have demonstrated that non-crop habitats surrounding farm fields provide requisites for natural enemies, and, agricultural landscape complexity affects natural pest control positively and decreases crop damage (BALZAN; BOCCI; MOONEN, 2016; BIANCHI; BOOIJ; TSCHARNTKE, 2006; RUSCH et al, 2016; THIES; STEFFAN-DEWENTER; TSCHARNTKE, 2003; VERES et al, 2013). A global analysis shows that landscape composition affects multiple dimensions of pest control, and non-crop habitat surrounding farm fields shows variable responses across geographies and cropping systems (KARP et al, 2018). These authors point out the need to understand when habitat conservation truly represents a win-win benefit and how landscape effects help local farms with biological control management
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