Carabids as potential indicators of sustainable farming systems

Horne, Paul A.

doi:10.1071/ea05265

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Our results indicate that monitoring (by direct searches under heavy stubble patches) for O. moreleti should be undertaken prior to sowing (April) with the first seasonal rains while also monitoring the population within lupin and canola crops around October. Importantly, with an increase in stubble retention and minimum tillage practices, beneficial arthropods, such as carabid beetles, can have a greater impact on field populations of millipedes (Horne & Edward, 1998;Horne, 2007;Nash et al, 2008). However, this relies on a reduction in pesticide usage and the persistence of non-crop vegetation (Nash et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life stages of the non‐native Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Julida, Julidae) in Australian small grain systems

Heddle

Umina

Helden

et al. 2021

Agri and Forest Entomology

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The Portuguese millipede, Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860), is increasingly a pest of grains crops in Australian agricultural ecosystems. With the rapid uptake of minimum-tillage practices, habitat quality has been enhanced for several species of soil dwelling invertebrates, in particular O. moreleti. 2 To understand the population dynamics of O. moreleti in Australian grains crops, populations were sampled at multiple sites for more than 2 years using pitfall traps and cardboard roll traps. Specimens were dissected to investigate reproductive status and developmental stage. 3 Millipede trapping rates varied between sites and across the year, and tended to be lower when soil water content (m 3 /m 3 ) was high. Both sexes were active year round, however females were relatively more abundant when ground temperatures were higher. 4 Males in a copulatory state and females with mature eggs were collected year round although females lacking mature eggs were more common when ground temperatures were higher and the soil was drier, and female egg load was higher under cooler conditions. Females at a stadium 9 or later carried mature eggs and copulatory males tended to be from stadium 8 or later. Different developmental stages could be recovered at all times of the year. 5 These findings indicate persistent populations of O. moreleti across fields throughout the year, with a key breeding period in autumn but likely opportunistic breeding all year. Control of millipedes will need to focus on increasing the impact of biological agents, decreasing suitable habitat for millipede breeding and intensive control at susceptible crop periods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life stages of the non‐native Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Julida, Julidae) in Australian small grain systems

Heddle

Umina

Helden

et al. 2021

Agri and Forest Entomology

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“…For decades, changes in key indicator species have been used to underpin increasing concern about the necessity of biodiversity conservation and sustainability in the face of accelerated environmental change induced by human activities. Subsequently, the use of indicators has been extended to aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates used to detect environmental impacts in freshwater [14][15][16] and different ecosystems [12,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Despite the extensive history of prospective indicator species, surprisingly, few studies have been conducted on indicators for sustainable agroecosystems [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera) as Indicators of Sustainability in Agroecosystems: A Systematic Review

2023

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The sustainability of agroecosystems is at risk owing to continuous anthropogenic disturbance. As such, there is a need to evaluate indicator taxa that may be used to monitor the health of agricultural management systems. Carabid beetles are ubiquitous and functionally crucial in agroecosystems while at the same time are sensitive to the changes caused by management practices. Their quick response to anthropogenic disturbances has been proposed as a practical and realistic tool for monitoring the sustainability of agricultural practices. However, there is still disagreement about carabids as possible indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. We conducted a systematic review of the responses of carabid beetles to agricultural systems in different biogeographical areas. We examined whether these beetles could serve as potential indicators of agroecosystem sustainability. The ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus were used to search for papers published from 2000-2019. In total, we included 69 studies indicating the use of carabids to monitor the impact of management practices in agroecosystems. Most studies were conducted in European countries (n = 37), while Southern Africa and East Asia countries were significantly under-represented (n = 10). Carabid beetle response to agroecosystems varied between management practices, with biodiversity indices (n = 41: positive 60%, negative 19%, and neutral 19%) being the most measured response variable, followed by functional diversity (n = 28: positive 67%, negative 25%, and neutral 7%). Overall, our findings highlight the need for more research in underdeveloped countries, to investigate the potential of overlooked carabids and include response variables measuring functional diversity in assessing the sustainability of agricultural management. This will assist policy makers and land managers in making active and informed decisions about agroecological disturbances and management.

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“…According to Allegro and Sciaky (2003) carabid beetles are considered as a bioindicator of ecosystem stability or stress. Furthermore, carabid beetles provide a benefit for the agricultural practise as a biological pest control agent (Kromp, 1999;Horne, 2007). Several agricultural activities like soil cultivation, plant protection and fertilization affect the carabid beetle assemblages and their species richness (Holland & Luff, 2000).…”

Section: Political Targets On European and German Level (Commission Omentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Carabid Beetle Diversity in Different Bioenergy Cropping Systems

Mast¹,

Hönninger²,

Claupein³

2012

SAR

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Changes in agricultural land use as a consequence of an increased demand of energy crops have resulted in an increase of maize cropped area in many regions of Germany. The focus on maize as main biogas substrate, has led in some cases to negative ecological and environmental impacts, such as a loss of agro biodiversity reflected in a loss of field flora and fauna biodiversity. The present paper deals with the evaluation of the fauna in different bioenergy cropping systems on two sites in South-West Germany, with a special focus on the species richness of carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages as an indicator for the general status of diversity. A maize field, an agroforestry system with maize and different tree species as well as different alternative biogas crops (amaranth, sunflower) was investigated for their carabid beetle activity, density, and species richness using pitfall traps. Moreover, for an adequate evaluation of the carabid assemblages different common diversity indices (Shannon-Wiener diversity (H'), Simpson diversity (D) and Evenness (J')) were used. In the case of the maize field on both field edges 8 and 6 carabid beetle species, respectively were trapped, while in the field centre 2 carabid beetle species were trapped. The agroforestry system indicated slightly higher crabid beetle species richness close to the tree strips. The investigation of alternative biogas crops showed no significant differences in carabid beetle diversity. Overall, the results of the different studies showed, that biodiversity of bioenergy cropping systems could be enhanced by the creation of refuge areas for carabid beetles or other animals. Refuges could be either field margins with grass and hedgerows or strips of more extensively used perennial energy crops across the field.

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Carabids as potential indicators of sustainable farming systems

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

Life stages of the non‐native Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Julida, Julidae) in Australian small grain systems

Life stages of the non‐native Ommatoiulus moreleti (Lucas, 1860) (Julida, Julidae) in Australian small grain systems

Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera) as Indicators of Sustainability in Agroecosystems: A Systematic Review

Evaluation of Carabid Beetle Diversity in Different Bioenergy Cropping Systems

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