The contribution of spatial mass effects to plant diversity in arable fields

Metcalfe, Helen; Hassall, Kirsty L.; Boinot, Sébastien; Storkey, Jonathan

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.13414

Cited by 40 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Nevertheless, temporal or spatial dispersal can maintain weed populations despite non-optimal adaptation to the local management practices [10]. For instance, source-sink dynamics can maintain a high frequency of a weed present in other crops or in adjacent habitats, through spatial mass effect [11]. Then, regional frequency alone does not represent weed success well.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Traits Make Weeds More Successful in Maize Crops? Insights from a Three-Decade Monitoring in France

Fried

Chauvel

Munoz

et al. 2019

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A major aim in invasion biology is identifying traits distinguishing alien invasive and alien non-invasive plants. Surprisingly, this approach has been, so far, poorly used to understand why some arable weeds are abundant and widespread while others are rare and narrowly distributed. In the present study, we focused on the characteristics of successful weeds occurring in maize fields, one of the most important crops worldwide. Two national weed surveys conducted in France were used to identify increasing and decreasing species based on 175 and 484 surveyed fields in the 1970s and the 2000s, respectively. Weed trait values related to regional frequency, local abundance, and specialization to maize were identified with phylogenetic generalized least-squares (PGLS). We found a positive relationship between regional frequency and local abundance, i.e., the most widespread weeds were also locally more abundant. We highlighted that weeds with the C4 photosynthetic pathway and summer emergence were more abundant, more frequent, and more specialized to maize crops. More generally, we highlighted two successful strategies: On the one hand, traits related to a general weediness syndrome with rapid resource acquisition (high SLA and Ellenberg-N) and high colonization capacity (seed longevity, fecundity, and wind dispersal); on the other hand, traits related to specific adaptation to spring cultivation (thermophilous species with summer emergence, late flowering, and C4 photosynthetic pathway). Deviations from the abundancy–frequency relationships also indicated that species of the Panicoideae sub-family, species with Triazine-resistant populations, and neophyte species were more abundant than expected by their regional frequency. To some extent, it is therefore possible to predict which species can be troublesome in maize crops and use this information in weed risk assessment tools to prevent new introductions or favor early detection and eradication. This study showed how tools developed in functional and macro-ecology can be used to improve our understanding of weed ecology and to develop more preventive management strategies.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Traits Make Weeds More Successful in Maize Crops? Insights from a Three-Decade Monitoring in France

Fried

Chauvel

Munoz

et al. 2019

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Arable field edges have often been observed to support increased diversity and abundance of weeds compared with more central regions of the fields [48,49]. This is assumed to be due to both a reduction in agricultural inputs towards the field edge or spatial mass effects associated with dispersal of weeds from the surrounding landscape or both [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Stability of Weed Patches in Cereal Fields under Direct Drilling and Harrow Tillage

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) techniques by farmers is changing the dynamics of weed communities in cereal fields and so potentially their spatial distribution. These changes can challenge the use of site-specific weed control, which is based on the accurate location of weed patches for spraying. We studied the effect of two types of CA (direct drilling and harrow-tilled to 20 cm) on weed patches in a three-year survey in four direct-drilled and three harrow-tilled commercial fields in Catalonia (North-eastern Spain). The area of the ground covered by weeds (hereafter called “weed cover”) was estimated at 96 to 122 points measured in each year in each field, in 50 cm × 50 cm quadrats placed in a 10 m × 10 m grid in spring. Bromus diandrus, Lolium rigidum, and Papaver rhoeas were the main weed species. The weed cover and degree of aggregation for all species varied both between and within fields, regardless of the kind of tillage. Under both forms of soil management all three were aggregated in elongated patterns in the direction of traffic. Bromus was generally more aggregated than Lolium, and both were more aggregated than Papaver. Patches were stable over time for only two harrow-tilled fields with Lolium and one direct-drilled field with Bromus, but not in the other fields. Spatial stability of the weeds was more pronounced in the direction of traffic. Herbicide applications, crop rotation, and traffic seem to affect weed populations strongly within fields, regardless of the soil management. We conclude that site-specific herbicides can be applied to control these species because they are aggregated, although the patches would have to be identified afresh in each season.

show abstract

“…If no significances are given, the results were classified based on a 20% deviation of the individual pairs of the organic from the conventional variant. Abundance is higher (Org +), lower (Org -) in organic farming, or comparable to conventional farming (Org =) a Including three pairwise comparisons according to statistical remarks in Caro et al (2016) for the classification fact that herbicide application usually affects the centers more than the edges (Metcalfe et al 2019;Batáry et al 2012;van Elsen 1989). Field edges can be safer sites for weeds.…”

Section: Impacts On Floramentioning

confidence: 99%

To what extent does organic farming promote species richness and abundance in temperate climates? A review

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The loss of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has been dramatic over the past few decades with negative trends persisting. Organic farming has received widespread recognition in the scientific and politic fields for its environmental benefits, although the proportion of land cultivated organically is still small and the extent to which organic farming contributes to the promotion of biodiversity is viewed controversially. We present a critical, quantitative review of 98 mainly peer-reviewed papers selected from 801 studies in temperate climate zones published over the period 1990-2017. We quantified differences in the species richness and abundance of selected flora and fauna groups. In total, 474 pairwise comparisons that compared organic and conventional farming systems were considered. Overall, organic farming showed higher species richness or abundance in 58% of the pairs. No differences were found for 38%, 4% indicated negative effects from organic farming. The average (median) species numbers of flora on arable land were 95% higher under organic management as well as 61% higher for seedbank and 21% higher for field margin vegetation. For field birds, the species richness was 35%, and the abundance was 24% higher in organic farming; for insects, the corresponding values are 22% and 36% and for spiders 15% and 55%. Our study underlines that organic farming can play an effective role in acting against the loss of biodiversity. Future research should focus on the combined effects of landscape structures and organic farming, the effect of largescale organic farming, as well as on the correlation of species diversity and production parameters. To meet the systems' representativeness, even more strict selection criteria need to be applied in further analysis.

show abstract

The contribution of spatial mass effects to plant diversity in arable fields

Cited by 40 publications

References 56 publications

Which Traits Make Weeds More Successful in Maize Crops? Insights from a Three-Decade Monitoring in France

Which Traits Make Weeds More Successful in Maize Crops? Insights from a Three-Decade Monitoring in France

Spatial and Temporal Stability of Weed Patches in Cereal Fields under Direct Drilling and Harrow Tillage

To what extent does organic farming promote species richness and abundance in temperate climates? A review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About