The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield: a quantitative synthesis

Albrecht, Matthias; Kleijn, David; Williams, Neal M.; Tschumi, Matthias; Blaauw, Brett R.; Bommarco, Riccardo; Campbell, Alistair John; Dainese, Matteo; Drummond, Francis A.; Entling, Martin H.; Ganser, Dominik; Groot, G.A. de; Goulson, Dave; Grab, Heather; Hamilton, Hannah; Herzog, Félix; Isaacs, Rufus; Jacot, Katja; Jeanneret, Philippe; Jonsson, Mattias; Knop, Eva; Kremen, Claire; Landis, Douglas A.; Loeb, Gregory M.; Marini, Lorenzo; McKerchar, Megan; Morandin, Lora A.; Pfister, Sonja C.; Potts, Simon G.; Rundlöf, Maj; Sardiñas, Hillary S.; Sciligo, Amber R.; Thies, Carsten; Tscharntke, Teja; Venturini, Eric; Veromann, Eve; Vollhardt, Ines M. G.; Wäckers, Félix; Ward, Kimiora L.; Wilby, Andrew; Woltz, Megan; Wratten, Steve D.; Sutter, Louis

doi:10.1111/ele.13576

Cited by 426 publications

(372 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Thus, this bird‐oriented action seems compatible with others fostering pollination and biocontrol by arthropods (e.g. perennial flower strips, Albrecht et al., 2020). And third, grants should be widely available to help farmers implement actions promoting ecosystem services, through policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the European Union Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

García

Miñarro

Martínez-Sastre

2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Ecological intensification in croplands aims to enhance biodiversity‐based ecosystem services, helping to increase yield while reducing agricultural environmental impacts. Identifying ecological intensification tools of wide applicability and easily implemented by farmers is, therefore, an imperative. Here, we verify the efficiency of provisioning artificial nest boxes for insectivorous birds to reinforce pest biological control in apple orchards. The study was conducted in 24 cider‐apple orchards in Asturias (NW Spain) over 3 years. We compared the effect of insectivorous birds between orchards with and without nest boxes occupied by different bird species, through insectivory estimates based on attack on a sentinel pest and measurements of arthropod abundance in apple trees. We also identified preys that birds of different species captured to feed nestlings. Bird occupancy of nest boxes was widespread, ranging 25.0%–33.3% each year. Great tit was the dominant species, followed by blue tit and, occasionally, common redstart. Predation pressure on apple pests increased in orchards with nest boxes, as judged by the increased proportion of sentinel models attacked by birds (34.9% increase in 2018 and 41.1% in 2019), decreased biomass of tree‐dwelling arthropods (−51.7%) and reduced probability of apple pest occurrence (from 57% to 40%), compared to orchards without nest boxes. Nesting species showed different predatory roles in apple orchards. Fewer attacks on sentinel pests but lower arthropod biomass was associated with blue tit rather than great tit. Besides, blue tit fed nestlings at a faster rate and included in their diet a higher proportion of apple pests than great tit, which preyed mostly on other herbivorous insects. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrated the usefulness of nest boxes for insectivorous birds in enhancing biological control of apple pests at a regional scale, identifying tit species as complementary predators of apple pests and herbivores. From the farmers' perspective, providing nest boxes in orchards may represent an efficient, easy to implement, cheap and attractive measure of ecological intensification, compatible with other actions fostering biodiversity in croplands.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

García

Miñarro

Martínez-Sastre

2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…The high diversity of wild bees in the two farms could be linked to the presence of semi-natural habitats around the parcels. Indeed, the implantation of hedgerows, flower strips or shrubby strips between the habitats of both farms provides sufficient floral resources during the foraging activity period of polylectic species ( Albrecht et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 C), coupled with ecological crop management practices (i.e. no-till, no chemical inputs...), promoted the establishment of wild bee populations ( Albrecht et al 2020 ). Indeed, hedgerows and other semi-natural habitats usually represent superior floral richness and abundance compared to intensive agricultural land use ( Hannon and Sisk 2009 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of wild bee (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) communities within farms undergoing ecological transition

Noël¹,

Bonnet²,

Everaerts³

et al. 2021

BDJ

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In Havelange (Belgium), two farms are experiencing an ecological transition. We aimed to evaluate the impact of their agricultural activities on insect pollinator communities. This article depicts the situation at the very early stage of the farm transition. This study supports the fact that the maintenance of farm-level natural habitats provides environmental benefits, such as the conservation of two important pollinator communities: wild bees and hoverflies. Over two years (2018-2019), by using nets and coloured pan-traps, we collected 6301 bee and hoverfly specimens amongst contrasting habitats within two farmsteads undergoing ecological transition in Havelange (Belgium). We reported 101 bee species and morphospecies from 15 genera within six families and 31 hoverfly species and morphospecies from 18 genera. This list reinforces the national pollinator database by providing new distribution data for extinction-threatened species, such as Andrena schencki Morawitz 1866, Bombus campestris (Panzer 1801), Eucera longicornis (L.) and Halictus maculatus Smith 1848 or for data deficient species, such as A. semilaevis Pérez 1903, A. fulvata (Müller 1766), A. trimmerana (Kirby 1802) and Hylaeus brevicornis Nylander 1852.

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“…plant quality, soil quality, topography) [ 5 – 16 ]. Spatial and temporal information on insect communities and environmental conditions could be used to better target site-specific application of water, nutrients and pest management chemistries [ 17 ] and implement within-field and field edge habitat management practices to enhance pollination and conservation biological control [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses to environmental variability by herbivorous insects and their natural enemies within a bioenergy crop, Miscanthus x giganteus

et al. 2021

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Precision agriculture (PA) is the application of management decisions based on identifying, quantifying, and responding to space-time variability. However, knowledge of crop pest responses to within-field environmental variability, and the spatial distribution of their natural enemies, is limited. Quantitative methods providing insights on how pest-predator relationships vary within fields are potentially important tools. In this study, phloem feeders and their natural enemies, were observed over two years across 81 locations within a field of the perennial feedstock grass in Georgia, USA. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was used to spatially correlate their abundance with environmental factors. Variables included distance to forest edge, Normalized Difference of Vegetation Index (NDVI), slope, aspect, elevation, soil particle size distribution, and weather values. GWR methods were compared with generalized linear regression methods that do not account for spatial information. Non-spatial models indicated positive relationships between phloem-feeder abundance and wind speed, but negative relationships between elevation, proportions of silt and sand, and NDVI. With data partitioned into three seasonal groups, terrain and soil variables remained significant, and natural enemies and spiders became relevant. Results from GWR indicated that magnitudes and directions of responses varied within the field, and that relationships differed among seasons. Strong negative relationships between response and explanatory factors occurred: with NDVI during mid-season; with percent silt, during mid-, and late seasons; and with spider abundance during early and late seasons. In GWR models, slope, elevation, and aspect were mostly positive indicating further that associations with elevation depended on whether models incorporated spatial information or not. By using spatially explicit models, the analysis provided a complex, nuanced understanding of within-field relationships between phloem feeders and environmental covariates. This approach provides an opportunity to learn about the variability within agricultural fields and, with further analysis, has potential to inform and improve PA and habitat management decisions.

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The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield: a quantitative synthesis

Cited by 426 publications

References 71 publications

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards: Nest boxes increase pest control by insectivorous birds

Distribution of wild bee (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) and hoverfly (Diptera: Syrphidae) communities within farms undergoing ecological transition

Responses to environmental variability by herbivorous insects and their natural enemies within a bioenergy crop, Miscanthus x giganteus

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