Session Information
| Session | Poster Session | | Date | Monday (2008-04-07) | | Time | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM | | Room | Grand Terrace |
Presentation Information
| Presenter | Ben Werling | | Title | Impact of perennial natural habitats on predation of herbivorous crop pests at plot, field and landscape scales | | Affiliation | University of Wisconsin | | Authors | Ben Werling, Claudio Gratton | | Keywords | Agroecosystems, Arthropoda, Landscape context, Predators | | Presentation Type | Poster | Abstract:
The presence of natural areas in agricultural landscapes may enhance suppression of insect pests of crops by providing key resources to their natural enemies. This has led to recommendations that farmers incorporate more natural area into their land to enhance pest control. However, the spatial scale at which natural habitats enhance predator suppression of pests is unclear. We examined predation rates on two key herbivorous pests of potatoes in existing and experimental landscapes to determine if and at what scale predation on crop pests is related to the amount of natural habitat surrounding crops. Results from our field study suggest that the presence of natural habitats immediately adjacent to fields can enhance predation rates within crops, but that this effect is limited to small fields where these two habitats are in close proximity. In small-scale experimental landscapes, predation was similarly greater in potatoes surrounded by plantings of native grasses than in plots surrounded by bare ground or additional potatoes. However, this effect was limited to areas immediately adjacent to natural areas. In conclusion, the presence of natural areas may enhance predation rates in crops, but this effect is limited by the large size of fields relative to surrounding natural areas. |
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