The Effect of Cover Crops on the Biodiversity and Abundance of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods in a Mediterranean Pear Orchard

Pedro, Luis de; Perera-Fernández, Luis Gabriel; López‐Gallego, Elena; Pérez‐Marcos, María; Sánchez, J.

doi:10.3390/agronomy10040580

Cited by 33 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…Consistent with previous studies [31,57,75], our study showed that cover crops support greater species richness and diversity of ground beetles than winter wheat, which could have positive effects on weed seed and insect pest regulations. Interestingly, as opposed to the effects shown by cropping systems, the ground beetle communities were different between crop phases during the initial two years of this study, but they were similar during the final three years.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Supporting Beneficial Insects for Agricultural Sustainability: The Role of Livestock-Integrated Organic and Cover Cropping to Enhance Ground Beetle (Carabidae) Communities

Adhikari

Menalled

2020

Agronomy

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Ground beetles (Carabidae) are beneficial insects providing ecosystem services by regulating insect pests and weed seeds. Despite several studies conducted on ground beetles worldwide, there is a lack of knowledge on how these insects are affected by differently managed organic systems (e.g., tillage-based versus grazed-based) compared to that of chemical-based no-tillage conventional cropping systems. In a 5-year (2013–2017) study, we assessed the ground beetle communities in cover crops and winter wheat (Triticum aestivium L.) in Montana, USA, with three contrasting cropping systems: a chemically managed no-tillage, a tillage-based organic, and a livestock-integrated organic with reduced tillage. The first three years (i.e., 2013–2015) corresponded to the transition to organic period, while the last two (i.e., 2016–2017) were conducted in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic-certified tillage-based and livestock-integrated organic systems. The experiment was designed with three management systems across three blocks as the whole plot variable and 5-year rotation of crop phases as the subplot variable. Using pitfall traps, we sampled ground beetles across all cover crop and winter wheat subplots for five years (n = 450). The data were analyzed using mixed effects models and PERMANOVA and visualized with non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination. Our study indicated that organically managed farms, whether tilled or grazed, enhance activity density, species richness, diversity, and evenness of ground beetles in the dryland row crop productions. Also, irrespective of farming system, cover crops supported higher species richness, diversity, and evenness of ground beetles than winter wheat. The ground beetle communities were mostly similar during the transition to organic period. However, during the established organic phase, cropping systems acted as contrasting ecological filters and beetle communities became dissimilar. Cover cropping affected ground beetle communities positively not only in organically managed systems but also in chemical-based conventional systems. Our study provides evidence supporting the adoption of ecologically-based cropping systems such as crop-livestock integration, organic farming, and cover cropping to enhance beneficial insects and their pest-regulation services.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Supporting Beneficial Insects for Agricultural Sustainability: The Role of Livestock-Integrated Organic and Cover Cropping to Enhance Ground Beetle (Carabidae) Communities

Adhikari

Menalled

2020

Agronomy

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, one of the additional benefits of cover crops may be promoting biodiversity including the diversity of economically insignificant species (Nicholls & Altieri 2013; Li et al , 2016; de Pedro et al , 2020), and thus they can be of high conservation interest. Theoretically, since cover crops are a more heterogeneous ecosystem with available niches (Rosenzweig, 1995; Dufour et al , 2006), they should support more species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of cover crops on beetle assemblages in tea plantations

Chen

Pozsgai

Li³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Beetles are visible members of food webs in tea plantations, with high species richness and abundance. Many tea pests, as well as natural enemies, are members of this order, so a knowledge of how groundcovers affect beetles can aid pest management. We collected beetles in a replicated field experiment in the Wuyi Mountains, Fujian Province China. Tea was intercropped with Paspalum notatum or Chamaecrista rotundifolia, or rows were cleared to bare ground, or in the control they were left unmanaged to allow weeds to grow naturally. Sampling, done by sweep netting and vegetation beating, was conducted monthly, between May 2006 and April 2008, and Coleoptera abundance, biomass, species richness and assemblage structures were compared between groundcover treatments. Total beetle abundance and species richness were significantly higher in tea intercropped with C. rotundifolia and bare ground than in naturally grown weedy control. Whilst there was no difference between predator assemblages among treatments for any measure, herbivores were more abundant, weighed more, and were more diverse in C. rotundifolia treatments than in weedy control. Biomass and species richness were also greater in plots with P. notatum groundcover than those in weedy control. We found that beetle assemblages varied both seasonally and with ground cover treatment, but the potential pest control impact of more species-rich beetle assemblages was mixed, and further work is needed to gain information on trophic groups with potential benefits for use in non-insecticidal pest management.

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“…In cover crop management, a mix of herbaceous plants or flowering plants is often used to house natural enemies in orchards (Eric, 1995;Marliac et al, 2016;de Pedro et al, 2020). For example, it is suggested that perennial flower strips should be placed in orchards to maintain natural enemies (Cahenzli et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Flower and Grass Strips for Augmentation of Beneficial Arthropods in Apple Orchards

Dong

Xia

Cheng

et al. 2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Sowing plants that provide food resources in orchards is a potential habitat management practice for enhancing biological control. Flowering plants (providing pollen and nectar) and grasses (providing alternative prey) can benefit natural enemies in orchards; however, little is known about their relative importance. We studied the effect of management practices (flower strips, grass strips, and spontaneous grass) on arthropod predators under organic apple management regimes in apple orchards in Beijing, China. Orchards located at two different sites were assessed for 3 years (2017–2019). The cover crops had a significant impact on the abundance and diversity of arthropod predators. The grass treatment consistently supported significantly greater densities of alternative prey resources for predators, and predators were more abundant in the grass than in the other treatments. The Shannon–Wiener diversity was significantly higher for the cover crop treatment than for the control. Community structure was somewhat similar between the grass and control, but it differed between the flower treatment and grass/control. Weak evidence for an increase in mobile predators (ladybirds and lacewings) in the orchard canopy was found. Ladybirds and lacewings were more abundant in the grass treatment than in the other treatments in 2019 only, while the aphid abundance in the grass treatment was lowest. The fact that grass strips promoted higher predator abundance and stronger aphid suppression in comparison to the flower strips suggests that providing alternative prey for predators has great biocontrol service potential. The selection of cover crops and necessary management for conserving natural enemies in orchards are discussed in this paper.

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The Effect of Cover Crops on the Biodiversity and Abundance of Ground-Dwelling Arthropods in a Mediterranean Pear Orchard

Cited by 33 publications

References 86 publications

Supporting Beneficial Insects for Agricultural Sustainability: The Role of Livestock-Integrated Organic and Cover Cropping to Enhance Ground Beetle (Carabidae) Communities

Supporting Beneficial Insects for Agricultural Sustainability: The Role of Livestock-Integrated Organic and Cover Cropping to Enhance Ground Beetle (Carabidae) Communities

Effects of cover crops on beetle assemblages in tea plantations

A Comparison of Flower and Grass Strips for Augmentation of Beneficial Arthropods in Apple Orchards

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