Semi-natural habitat complexity affects abundance and movement of natural enemies in organic olive orchards

Álvarez, Hugo Alejandro; Morente, Marina; Oi, F. Shigeo; Rodrı́guez, Estefanı́a; Campos, Mercedes; Ruano, Francisca

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2019.106618

Cited by 38 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In olive orchards some plant species within ground cover and adjacent vegetation have shown positive effects on predators, omnivores (Torres, 2006), and pollinators (Karamaouna et al, 2019). For example, in a previous study Álvarez et al (2019a) suggested that arthropod abundance is affected by the type of vegetation, i.e., most plant species within ground cover and adjacent vegetation had a higher abundance of natural enemies than the olive trees, although each trophic guild of natural enemies (e.g., omnivores, parasitoids, and predators) had a specific relationship with a type of vegetation. They showed that four herbaceous species within ground cover attract more predators than others, and six shrubby species within adjacent vegetation attract more omnivores than others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Semi-natural habitat complexity and the management of the ground cover positively affect abundance and variability of natural enemies and pollinators in olive orchards (Álvarez et al, 2019a; 2019b; 2021; Gkisakis et al, 2016; Karamaouna et al, 2019; Villa et al, 2016a). However, a positive or negative response shown by an organism to a nearby habitat could be driven by the structure and composition of such a habitat (Álvarez et al, 2016; 2017; 2021; Balmford et al, 2012; Clemente-Orta et al, 2020;…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Habitat complexity in organic olive orchards modulates the abundance of natural enemies but not the attraction to plant species

Álvarez¹,

Morente²,

Ruano³

2021

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Semi-natural habitat complexity and organic management could affect the abundance and diversity of natural enemies and pollinators in olive orchards. Nonetheless, in such agroecosystems the effect of plant structure, plant richness, and plant attraction on the arthropod fauna has been poorly documented. Here we evaluate the influence of those effects jointly as an expression of arthropod abundance and richness in olive trees, ground cover, and adjacent vegetation within organic olive orchards. For this, we used generalized linear models and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) integrating generalized additive models. Our results suggest that natural enemies and pollinators are mainly attracted to A. radiatus, D. catholica, and L. longirrostris within ground cover and G. cinerea speciosa, Q. rotundifolia, R. officinalis, T. zygis gracilis, and U. parviflorus within adjacent vegetation. Accordingly, habitat complexity showed a positive relationship with the abundance of key families of natural enemies and pollinators but not with the number of taxa. NMDS showed that plant richness and plant arrangement and scattering affected the key families differently, suggesting that each key family responds to their individual needs for plant resources but forming groups modulated by complexity. This pattern was especially seeing in predators and omnivores. Our findings support that the higher the plant richness and structure of a semi natural-habitat within an olive orchard, the higher the abundance and richness of a given arthropod community (a pattern found in natural ecosystems). The information presented here can be used by producers and technicians to increase the presence and abundance of natural enemies and pollinators within organic olive orchards, and thus improve the ecosystem services provided by semi-natural habitats.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat complexity in organic olive orchards modulates the abundance of natural enemies but not the attraction to plant species

Álvarez¹,

Morente²,

Ruano³

2021

Preprint

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“…Agricultural landscapes are characterized by a diverse range of SNH such as hedgerows, woodlands and forests, cover crops, herbaceous ungrazed habitats and grassy linear habitats [ 11 , 13 ]. These types of SNH, with their higher insect abundance and diversity than crops [ 14 , 15 ], have the potential to attract and support natural enemies of insect pests [ 16 , 17 ]. The relationship between plant species and insects is linked to reproduction and feeding [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The suitability of native flowers as pollen sources for Chrysoperla lucasina (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

2020

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Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) are key biological control agents found in a broad range of crops. Given the importance of enhancing their presence and conservation, in this study, we aim to identify and to determine the relative importance of the pollen consumed by Chrysoperla lucasina (Lacroix, 1936) from 29 pollen types offered by 51 native plant species sown in an experimental farm in Villarrubia in the south of Spain. For the purposes of this study, C . lucasina specimens were captured in the late spring of 2016 and 2017. The pollen types and other components in the alimentary canal of C . lucasina were microscopically identified using the transparency method, which is a novel technique applied to green lacewings captured in the field. The results show that (i) C . lucasina feeds on over half of the pollen types offered by the sown plant species, with no differences in behaviour by sex or year; (ii) Capsella bursa-pastoris was the most frequently identified pollen type in the alimentary canal; (iii) the majority of pollen types identified correspond to sown native plant species and not to surrounding plant species; and that (iv) most of the adults studied also consumed honeydew. Our feeding study has important implications for the selection of plant mixtures for ground cover restoration and flower vegetation strips in Mediterranean agroecosystems, which complements our previous findings on how C . lucasina use native plant species as host and reproduction sites. The plant species Capsella bursa-pastoris and Biscutella auriculata , which are best suited to provide pollen, host and reproduction sites for C . lucasina in late spring, should consequently be included in the proposed plant mixtures for Mediterranean agroecosystems.

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“…Some studies have pointed out the key role of arthropod natural enemies such as Anthocoris nemoralis (Fabricius) (Paredes et al, 2019) or other ground arthropods (Dinis et al, 2016) in olive orchards. Semi-natural patches and ground cover seem to have a vital function, providing habitat and alternative prey for them (Álvarez et al, 2019; Paredes et al, 2019). This result endorses the positive effect of natural fragments on pest control in agroecosystems, and the higher predation observed in areas close to semi-natural patches/ecotones, already reported by other authors in different systems (Barbaro, Giffard, Charbonnier, van Halder, & Brockerhoff, 2014; Maas et al, 2015; Milligan, Johnson, Garfinkel, Smith, & Njoroge, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have addressed the importance of natural vegetation (Paredes et al, 2019) and extensive ground cover management (Paredes et al, 2015; Villa et al, 2016) for olive pest control. However, most studies in this agroecosystem have focused on arthropod natural enemies (Álvarez et al, 2019; Paredes et al 2015), which seem to play an important role, with important economic implications (Paredes et al, 2019). Elucidating the significance of biocontrol by birds and how it is affected by landscape is especially necessary under the current scenario of progressive intensification that suffers this agroecosystem (Infante-Amate et al, 2016) and the remarked role of olive groves for the conservation of bird biodiversity in the Mediterranean region (Rey, 1993, 2011; Rey et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape drivers and effectiveness of pest control by insectivorous birds in a landscape-dominant woody crop

Martínez‐Núñez

Rey

Manzaneda

et al. 2020

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Avian-mediated pest control is a significant ecosystem service with important economic implications. However, there is an overall paucity of experimental information about how landscape simplification affect its current level. Information on pest control by birds is missing in some permanent agroecosystems of worldwide importance, like olive orchards, that dominate vast areas in the Mediterranean region.We assess the effectiveness of insectivorous birds for controlling the two main pest insects in olive orchards and explore the effects of landscape complexity and distance to semi-natural patches on avian insectivore abundance and pest control. For this, we combine bird surveys with field experiments (branch exclusions and pest plasticine models) at the regional scale.Landscape heterogeneity increased the abundance and richness of insectivorous birds, which were also more abundant and diverse in semi-natural patches, compared to the farm olive matrix. Experiments evidenced that pest control by birds (measured as attack rates to plasticine models and pest damage) in the studied olive orchards is negligible, while pests were overall abundant and pest damage was high on most farms. This raises alarms about the status of avian pest control in this agroecosystem.Although landscape heterogeneity increased the abundance/richness of insectivorous birds, and favored some forest species, insectivorous bird abundance seems diluted in relation to prey availability in all landscapes. Thus, pest control by birds seems currently unsuccessful in olive orchards. Our results might be evidencing the loss of an ecosystem service due to a generalized massive decline of common and forest insectivorous birds.Key messageOlive orchards dominate extensive areas causing important landscape simplification.Insectivorous birds are more abundant in semi-natural patches within olive farms.Field experiments show a low impact of birds on olive pests and damage.Avian-mediated pest biocontrol seems diluted by limited suitable habitat for birds.Agri-environmental measures should focus on increasing landscape complexity.

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Semi-natural habitat complexity affects abundance and movement of natural enemies in organic olive orchards

Cited by 38 publications

References 53 publications

Habitat complexity in organic olive orchards modulates the abundance of natural enemies but not the attraction to plant species

Habitat complexity in organic olive orchards modulates the abundance of natural enemies but not the attraction to plant species

The suitability of native flowers as pollen sources for Chrysoperla lucasina (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Landscape drivers and effectiveness of pest control by insectivorous birds in a landscape-dominant woody crop

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