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Abstract
Agroforestry systems represent the integration of agricultural crops with native vegetation. These systems are of great importance to minimize the agricultural impact in the land through intercropping of these vegetations. Despite of the importance of Chrysidoidea as parasitoids wasps associated with different groups of insects, there is no study comparing the assemblages of these hymenopterans in conventional and agroforestry systems in Brazil. The “Pontal do Paranapanema”, located in the extreme west of the state of São Paulo (Brazil), has historically been occupied by coffee crops and some small areas of agroforestry systems. Therefore, this study aimed to verify the abundance and composition of Chrysidoidea wasp fauna in different conventional coffee crops and agroforestry systems located in this region. To do so, we collected in six different localities in the “Pontal do Paranapanema” using a Malaise trap in each locality with collections occurring monthly between June 2011 and July 2012. A total of 3,623 Chrysidoidea specimens of three families were collected: Bethylidae, with four genera and a total of 3,396 individuals, representing 93.73% of the total collected; Chrysididae with 11 genera and 151 individuals (4.16%), and Dryinidae with five genera and 76 individuals (2.09%). In terms of abundance, the agroforestry was responsible for most of the individuals collected (n = 2029), followed by the conventional systems with 1,406 individuals and the transitional with 188. The most abundant genera were Epyris and Dissomphalus, responsible for about 92% of the total of Chrysidoidea collected. Most of the genera of Chrysididae were collected in the conventional systems alone or in both conventional and agroforestry systems. For Bethylidae and Dryinidae, no genera were found exclusively in the conventional system. It is expected that the structural complexity of each one of the different ecosystems impact directly in the fauna of Chrysidoidea parasitoids associated.
Highlights
Degradation, fragmentation and destruction of habitats play central roles among the pressures driving biodiversity loss (Rands et al, 2010; Haddad et al, 2015)
This study was carried out in an area named “Pontal do Paranapanema” (Fig. 1), a region historically occupied by large farms based on monoculture and ranching, and recently by the cultivation of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) and coffee plantations (Coffea arabica L.)
The areas selected for collection of the Hymenoptera parasitoids were agroforestry systems associated with coffee and fruits, and conventional coffee crops at “Fazenda Ribeirão Bonito” (Fig. 1, Table 1), a rural settlement area located near the Morro do Diabo State Park, belonging to the municipality of Teodoro Sampaio, São Paulo, Brazil
Summary
Degradation, fragmentation and destruction of habitats play central roles among the pressures driving biodiversity loss (Rands et al, 2010; Haddad et al, 2015). The conversion of native vegetation to agricultural systems has been the most important disturbance of natural ecosystems caused by human activities (Pereira et al, 2010; Foley et al, 2011). Agricultural demand is necessary to guarantee future food security (Foley et al, 2011). Coffee is considered the most important commodity in the world after oil. Brazil is the most important country that produces and. The conventional coffee farming has adopted increasingly intensive management in agrochemicals. This style of coffee farming has as its main characteristics the simplification of agroecosystems (monoculture), with periodic use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, causing negative environmental, ecological, health and social consequences and implications (Lopes et al, 2012)
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