Abstract
Homegardens are coupled social-ecological systems that act as biodiversity reservoirs while contributing to local food sovereignty. These systems are characterized by their structural complexity, while involving management practices according to gardener’s cultural origin. Social–ecological processes in homegardens may act as filters of species’ functional traits, and thus influence the species richness-functional diversity relationship of critical agroecosystem components like beetles (Coleoptera). We tested the species richness-functional diversity relationship of beetle communities and examined whether habitat structure across different levels, sociodemographic profiles, and management practices act as filters in homegardens in a Global Biodiversity Hotspot, Chile. For 100 homegardens (50 campesino and 50 migrant), we sampled beetles and habitat attributes, and surveyed gardeners’ sociodemographic profiles and management practices. We recorded 85 beetle species and found a positive relationship between species richness and functional richness that saturated when functionally similar species co-occur more often than expected by chance, indicating functional redundancy in species-rich homegardens. Gardener origin (campesino/migrant), homegarden area (m2), structural complexity (index), and pest control strategy (natural, chemical, or none) were the most influential social–ecological filters that selectively remove beetle species according to their functional traits. We discuss opportunities in homegarden management for strengthening local functional diversity and resilience under social-environmental changes.
Highlights
Biological and cultural diversity have been recognized as inextricably linked, in those nature-human coupled systems in which the interaction among multiple entities and actors allows their s ynergy[1,2]
Beetle functional richness (FRic) was strongly correlated with species richness by a polynomial regression (r2 = 0.64; p < 0.01; y = 0.20 + 0.85x −0.26x2; Fig. 1) that started to saturate at the highest species-rich homegardens
We found that several beetle species may be performing similar roles in southern Andean homegardens with relatively high number of species
Summary
Biological and cultural diversity have been recognized as inextricably linked, in those nature-human coupled systems in which the interaction among multiple entities and actors allows their s ynergy[1,2]. Homegardens are peridomestic complex microenvironments in which useful plants are cultivated and are traditionally integrated within a larger coupled nature-human system known as agroforestry s ystem[4] These social-ecological systems are sometimes cultivated for aesthetic reasons only, others include space for children to play, but most provide year-round resources for household needs such as nourishment, medicine, and income generation opportunities, while involving specific management practices[5,6]. The complex habitat structure of homegardens, the sociodemographic profiles of gardeners (e.g., cultural origin), and their different management practices (e.g., use of agrochemical or organic pesticides), can act as social-ecological filters. These filters influence the taxonomic diversity (e.g., species richness) of small animals, Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:12462. Many lifestyle migrants have incorporated homegardens into their livelihoods, but their socio-demographic profiles and management practices may influence contrasting patterns of both taxonomic and functional biodiversity in homegardens, in comparison to local c ampesinos[32,33]
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