Local Habitat Complexity and Its Effects on Herbivores and Predators in Urban Agroecosystems.

ABSTRACT: In urban community gardens, cultivated vegetation provides variable levels of habitat complexity, which can suppress pests by promoting predator diversity and improving pest control. In this study, we examine three components of the structural complexity of garden vegetation (cover, diversity, and connectivity) to investigate whether higher garden vegetation complexity leads to fewer herbivores, more predators, and higher predation. We worked in eight community gardens where we quantified vegetation complexity, sampled the arthropod community, and measured predation on corn earworm eggs. We found that plots with high vegetation cover supported higher species richness and greater abundance of predatory insects. High vegetation cover also supported a greater abundance and species richness of

SUBMITTER: Lucatero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10816164 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature