Institut National Recherches Agronomiques, Avignon, France.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2011 Jan;30(1):212-9. doi: 10.1002/etc.377.
Birds are regarded as appropriate biological indicators of how changes in agricultural practices affect the environment. They are also involved in the biocontrol of pests. In the present study, we provide an assessment of the impact of pest control strategies on bird communities in apple orchards in southeastern France. We compared the structure (abundance, species richness, and diversity) of breeding bird communities in 15 orchards under conventional or organic pest control over a three-year period (2003-2005). Pest control strategies and their evolution over time were characterized by analyzing farmers' treatment schedules. The landscape surrounding the orchards was characterized using a Geographic Information System. We observed 30 bird species overall. Bird abundance, species richness, and diversity were all affected by pest control strategies, and were highest in organic orchards and lowest in conventional orchards during the three study years. The pest control strategy affected insectivores more than granivores. We further observed a tendency for bird communities in integrated pest management orchards to change over time and become increasingly different from communities in organic orchards, which also corresponded to changes in treatment schedules. These findings indicate that within-orchard bird communities may respond quickly to changes in pesticide use and may, in turn, influence biocontrol of pests by birds.
鸟类被认为是农业实践变化如何影响环境的合适生物指标。它们还参与了害虫的生物防治。在本研究中，我们评估了法国东南部苹果园中害虫防治策略对鸟类群落的影响。我们在三年（2003-2005 年）期间比较了常规或有机害虫防治下的 15 个果园中繁殖鸟类群落的结构（丰富度、物种丰富度和多样性）。通过分析农民的处理计划来描述害虫防治策略及其随时间的演变。使用地理信息系统来描述果园周围的景观。我们总共观察到 30 种鸟类。鸟类的丰富度、物种丰富度和多样性都受到害虫防治策略的影响，在三年的研究期间，有机果园中的鸟类最多，而常规果园中的鸟类最少。害虫防治策略对食虫鸟类的影响大于食谷鸟类。我们还观察到，综合虫害管理果园中的鸟类群落随着时间的推移而发生变化，并且越来越不同于有机果园中的鸟类群落，这也与处理计划的变化相对应。这些发现表明，果园内的鸟类群落可能会对农药使用的变化迅速做出反应，并且反过来可能会影响鸟类对害虫的生物防治。
