Field-scale habitat complexity enhances avian conservation and avian-mediated pest-control services in an intensive agricultural crop

Kross, Sara M.; Kelsey, T. Rodd; McColl, Chris; Townsend, Jason M.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.03.043

Cited by 45 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In a study conducted at a similar scale, Pithon et al [63] found that only Woodlarks (Lullula arborea) and Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) were associated with orchards (vineyards), while the majority of the species that used agroecosystems were associated with semi-naturals habitat in French agroecosystems. Similar results have been reported in California agroecosystems, where the tree rows at the edges of alfalfa crops significantly increased the avian richness [5]. Other studies support the relevance of isolated trees [64] and hedgerows as factors that favor bird diversity in agricultural landscapes [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72].…”

Section: Land Cover Effectsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…fruit during spring, and invertebrates during winter) [80]. Some of these species may play a beneficial role as predators of insects, in particular soil insect larvae, potentially helping control agricultural pests within agroecosystems [4,5,81,82].…”

Section: Species Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the limited number of wild species able to persist in agroecosystems, birds are particularly important, for example in biological control of agricultural pests [4,5] or using birds as bioindicators of agricultural sustainability [6]. Bird presence in agroecosystems depends on the type of crop and its structural heterogeneity (e.g., a grassland with low vertical stratification vs trees with high vertical stratification), as well as the type of agricultural management and landscape composition [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Agricultural landscapes as habitat for birds in central Chile

Muñoz‐Sáez

Perez‐Quezada

Estades

2017

Rev. Chil. de Hist. Nat.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Understanding the role of agroecosystems as habitat for wildlife is crucial for long-term conservation planning, as different crop stratification and landscape elements can influence bird communities, which are also affected by seasonality. The goal of our study was to determine how agricultural landscapes varying in land cover characteristics affect bird richness and abundance. Bird surveys were conducted at 110 locations within agricultural landscapes in central Chile. The surveyed areas were characterized by land cover at two scales (50 and 500 m radii) through direct observation and photo-interpretation, during winter and spring seasons. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to evaluate the effects of different agricultural land covers on bird species and communities. Results: Our results show that birds were more abundant during winter, in particular for insectivorous and granivorous birds, and that bird species richness was significantly increased due to cover provided by hedgerows at the plot scale. Conclusions: We found that abundance of some bird species in agroecosystems in central Chile was higher in winter than in spring, and that overall bird richness was favored by structural diversity including non-crop structures such as hedgerows, which thus may be relevant for improving bird conservation management in temperate agroecosystems. Our results suggest that native vegetation proximity and area may affect seasonal changes in bird communities at larger scales, relationships which warrant further study.

show abstract

Section: Land Cover Effectsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Species Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agricultural landscapes as habitat for birds in central Chile

Muñoz‐Sáez

Perez‐Quezada

Estades

2017

Rev. Chil. de Hist. Nat.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…), proximity to woody field margins (Garfinkel and Johnson ), or habitat‐linked increases in bird abundance (Kross et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale habitat mediates pest reduction by birds in an intensive agricultural region

Heath

Long²

2019

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habitat augmentation on farms is predicted to conserve biological diversity and support beneficial animals that reduce crop pests. Effectiveness of local habitat enhancement and subsequent pest reduction services can be mediated by the amount of habitat at larger scales. We tested whether the presence and increase of local and landscape scale bird habitat increased avian predator abundance and pest reduction by birds. We surveyed birds and performed a sentinel prey exclosure experiment in walnut orchards in the Sacramento Valley, California, USA—comparing predation probability between orchards with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) woody habitat in uncultivated orchard margins. We digitized seminatural habitat cover in landscapes around orchards to test the effectiveness of avian predators in reducing sentinel prey along a seminatural cover gradient of 0–38%. Experimental prey were diapausing larvae of Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae; codling moth), a significant pest of walnuts, which overwinter in cocoons in orchards, emerge as adults, and produce larvae that feed on the nuts the following spring. Permitting bird access to cocoons increased larval predation from 11% (caged) to 46% (no cage), and predation increased with increasing proportions of seminatural habitat within 500‐m of orchard transects. Predation also increased as the size and bark furrow depth of walnut trees increased, likely because these characteristics were associated with increasing abundance of avian predators with functional traits specific to consuming tree‐dwelling cocoons (e.g., woodpeckers). The presence and increasing complexity of local margin habitat increased the species richness and abundance of avian predators but was not predictive of cocoon predation. Consistent with intermediate landscape‐complexity hypothesis predictions, the effect size of woodpecker abundance on predation was large in simple landscapes (1–20% seminatural cover) and low in complex landscapes (>20% cover). Contrary to predictions, effect size was large in cleared landscapes (<1% cover), suggesting that orchards supported predators in cleared landscapes, with positive effects on pest reduction. We provide evidence that increasing the abundance of avian predators with traits specific for consuming target pests—by retaining old trees and seminatural cover—can increase orchard pest reduction services in an intensive agricultural region.

show abstract

“…Similarly, pest suppression appears intensified in areas of higher edge density (Kross et al 2016), mainly due to the increase of bird richness and abundance at forest-farm field edges (Kross et al 2016, Martin et al 2016). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape processes underpinning bird persistence and avian-mediated pest control in fragmented landscapes

Boesing¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Field-scale habitat complexity enhances avian conservation and avian-mediated pest-control services in an intensive agricultural crop

Cited by 45 publications

References 47 publications

Agricultural landscapes as habitat for birds in central Chile

Agricultural landscapes as habitat for birds in central Chile

Multiscale habitat mediates pest reduction by birds in an intensive agricultural region

Landscape processes underpinning bird persistence and avian-mediated pest control in fragmented landscapes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About