Effect of organic farming on insect diversity

Abstract

The paper focuses on the insect community as a "link" between ecosystem producers, secondary consumers and decomposers and the mobile and informative indicator of structure, biological stability and productivity. Consortium and other subsystems of agricultural ecosystems are mainly destroyed annually as a result of technological measures - chemical, mechanical, biological. External ecological factors, including the structure of the agrolandscape, in particular field protective forest shelter belts and ecotones between them, also have a certain influence. The research was conducted in organic agrolandscape (Kyiv region, Ukraine), comparing it with the conventional one. Insects were collected in winter wheat fields, ecotones and adjacent forest shelterbelts. The number of orders, families and individuals is greater under organic farming. The highest number of families and individuals was recorded in the forest shelterbelts adjacent to the organic landscape (26.3 and 111.7, respectively). The number of individuals in organic winter wheat fields was twice as large as in conventional fields and amounted to 85.3 individuals on average; the number of families was by 1.8 times larger. Biodiversity indices (Shannon, Menhinick, Margalef, Berger-Parker, and Pielou) confirm the greater diversity of insects in the organic fields of winter wheat. The Sørensen similarity coefficient was higher in the organic fields and forest shelterbelts near the conventional fields (Cs=0.7), which is explained by the largest number of phytophages in these ecosystems. The share of predators and parasites that control pests in the agricultural system was highest in organic ecotones and forest shelterbelts - 26.21% and 33.12% (against 10.24 and 18.16% in conventional, respectively).

Impacts of Organic Farming on Insects Abundance and Diversity

“…Moreover, biodiversity indices such as Shannon, Menhinick, Margalef, Berger-Parker, and Piclou confirmed the greater diversity of insects in the organic field of winter wheat. The number of predators and parasitoids was more than double in organic ecotones and forest shelters [11]. Insect species richness and abundance in organic farming were found to be 22 and 36% higher than conventional farming.…”

“…The largest number of phytophages was recorded in the organic fields of winter wheat, but in organic ecotones and adjacent protective forest shelterbelts, compared with the conventional ones, there were a larger share of predators and parasites. The similarity of organic field ecosystems and conventional forest belt by the Sørensen coefficient indicates the migration of phytophages from conventional fields to adjacent areas [11].…”

“…The overall impacts of global insect decline on the proper functioning of the ecosystem could be easily manifested through the decrease in the services that the ecosystem provides in terms of pollination, trophic interaction, and nutrient recycling [9]. Maintenance of insect habitats, cut in synthetic pesticide use [10], and organic farming [11,12] are probably the most effective means to stop a further decline of insects and promote recovery of biodiversity. This chapter aims to summarize the possible causes of global insect decline, the impact on ecosystem services, and measures to alleviate it with emphasis on the organic farming system.…”

Formation of biometric indicators and yield of soybean seed depends on elements of agrotechnology under irrigation

“…Дослідження, проведені різними вченими, свідчить про те, що реакція сорту на елементи технології залежить від його біологічних особливостей, а саме -реакції на вологозабезпечення, інокулювання, рівень удобрення, або забезпеченість елементами живлення тощо [12,13]. Сортова технологія повинна базуватися на управлінні модифікаційною мінливістю рослин та враховувати специфіку адаптивних реакцій сорту на основних етапах органогенезу, зокрема і характер зв'язків між компонентами потенційної продуктивності [14,15].…”