Tschumi Matthias, Albrecht Matthias, Entling Martin H, Jacot Katja
Proc Biol Sci. 2015 Sep 7;282(1814). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.1369.
Providing key resources to animals may enhance both their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. We examined the performance of annual flower strips targeted at the promotion of natural pest control in winter wheat. Flower strips were experimentally sown along 10 winter wheat fields across a gradient of landscape complexity (i.e. proportion non-crop area within 750 m around focal fields) and compared with 15 fields with wheat control strips. We found strong reductions in cereal leaf beetle(CLB) density (larvae: 40%; adults of the second generation: 53%) and plant damage caused by CLB (61%) in fields with flower strips compared with control fields. Natural enemies of CLB were strongly increased in flower strips and in part also in adjacent wheat fields. Flower strip effects on natural enemies, pests and crop damage were largely independent of landscape complexity(8-75% non-crop area). Our study demonstrates a high effectiveness of annual flower strips in promoting pest control, reducing CLB pest levels below the economic threshold. Hence, the studied flower strip offers a viable alternative to insecticides. This highlights the high potential of tailored agri-environment schemes to contribute to ecological intensification and may encourage more farmers to adopt such schemes.
为动物提供关键资源可能会增强它们的生物多样性以及它们所提供的生态系统服务。我们研究了旨在促进冬小麦自然虫害控制的一年生花卉带的性能。沿着10个冬小麦田，在景观复杂性梯度（即焦点田周围750米内非作物面积的比例）上试验性地播种了花卉带，并与15个设有小麦对照带的田块进行了比较。我们发现，与对照田相比，设有花卉带的田块中谷物叶甲虫（CLB）密度大幅降低（幼虫：40%；第二代成虫：53%），由CLB造成的作物损害也降低了（61%）。CLB的天敌在花卉带中大幅增加，部分在相邻的小麦田中也有所增加。花卉带对天敌、害虫和作物损害的影响在很大程度上与景观复杂性（非作物面积占8 - 75%）无关。我们的研究表明一年生花卉带在促进虫害控制方面具有很高的有效性，将CLB害虫水平降低到经济阈值以下。因此，所研究的花卉带为杀虫剂提供了一种可行的替代方案。这突出了量身定制的农业环境方案在促进生态集约化方面的巨大潜力，并可能鼓励更多农民采用此类方案。
