Old fields increase habitat heterogeneity for arthropod natural enemies in an agricultural mosaic

Ground beetles (Carabidae) of field margin habitats

“…Studies on vegetation and accompanying entomofauna in field margin habitats help evaluate the role of these habitats as potential refugia for useful animals in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and as components influencing ecological balance at the level of landscape (Barczak 1993;Barczak et al 2000;Ramsden et al 2015;Tscharntke et al 2016;Kadej et al 2018). Other important aspects are the species composition and changes in plant communities, as well as the age of these field margin ecosystems (Marshall and Moonen 2002;Gaigher et al 2016), and their structural diversity/layer structure (Taboada et al 2010). Some researchers believe that communities of perennial vegetation with established qualitative and quantitative relationships play a greater role as more stable and richer refugia for useful fauna (Marshall and Moonen 2002;Gaigher et al 2016), while Yu et al (2006) recorded that the short term establishment of field margins is effective in enhancing the diversity and abundance of carabids.…”

“…Other important aspects are the species composition and changes in plant communities, as well as the age of these field margin ecosystems (Marshall and Moonen 2002;Gaigher et al 2016), and their structural diversity/layer structure (Taboada et al 2010). Some researchers believe that communities of perennial vegetation with established qualitative and quantitative relationships play a greater role as more stable and richer refugia for useful fauna (Marshall and Moonen 2002;Gaigher et al 2016), while Yu et al (2006) recorded that the short term establishment of field margins is effective in enhancing the diversity and abundance of carabids. Furthermore, it has been emphasized that bushes among fields promote the synchronic emergence of pests and their natural enemies in diversified agricultural landscapes (e.g.…”

Harnessing ecosystem services in transforming agriculture in Southern Africa

“…Landscape heterogeneity can enhance NPR, although the specific drivers still need to be established in order to develop appropriate interventions. For example, in the wine growing areas of the Cape floristic region, old fields pro vide high plant and prey diversity and subsequently natural enemies (Gaigher et al, 2016a), although this doesn't guarantee natural spill over into adjacent crops (Gaigher et al, 2016b). While natural enemy abundance and NPR are limited by dispersal this could be compensated for by landscape management; it is the quality and complexity of field margins along with the spatial arrange ment that facilitate natural enemy dispersal to agricultural land (Griffiths et al, 2008).…”