More pests but less pesticide applications: Ambivalent effect of landscape complexity on conservation biological control.

ABSTRACT: In agricultural landscapes, the amount and organization of crops and semi-natural habitats (SNH) have the potential to promote a bundle of ecosystem services due to their influence on ecological community at multiple spatio-temporal scales. SNH are relatively undisturbed and are often source of complementary resources and refuges, therefore supporting more diverse and abundant natural pest enemies. However, the nexus of SNH proportion and organization with pest suppression is not trivial. It is thus crucial to understand how the behavior of pest and natural enemy species, the underlying landscape structure, and their interaction, may influence conservation biological control (CBC). Here, we develop a generative stochastic landscape model to simulate realistic agricultural landscape composi

SUBMITTER: Zamberletti P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8601610 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature