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Landscape-scale crop diversity interacts with local management to determine ground beetle diversity

Palmu, Erkki LU ; Ekroos, Johan LU ; Hanson, Helena LU ; Smith, Henrik LU and Hedlund, Katarina LU orcid (2014) In Basic and Applied Ecology 15(3). p.241-249
Abstract
Crop diversification and maintenance of semi-natural habitats (grasslands and field boundaries) are suggested to enhance farmland biodiversity, but the relative importance of these factors remains poorly known. We evaluated how crop diversity and availability of semi-natural grasslands at a landscape-scale interacted with local farming management (three management types from low to high intensity: ley < winter wheat < sugar beet) in their effect on ground beetle assemblages in southern Sweden. Ground beetle diversity increased with crop diversity either independently of local management (Simpson species diversity), or only in the less intensively managed habitats (rarefied species richness). While ground beetle diversity in leys... (More)
Crop diversification and maintenance of semi-natural habitats (grasslands and field boundaries) are suggested to enhance farmland biodiversity, but the relative importance of these factors remains poorly known. We evaluated how crop diversity and availability of semi-natural grasslands at a landscape-scale interacted with local farming management (three management types from low to high intensity: ley < winter wheat < sugar beet) in their effect on ground beetle assemblages in southern Sweden. Ground beetle diversity increased with crop diversity either independently of local management (Simpson species diversity), or only in the less intensively managed habitats (rarefied species richness). While ground beetle diversity in leys tended to increase with field boundary length, no such relationship was observed in winter wheat or sugar beet fields. In contrast, the landscape proportions of leys and semi-natural grasslands did not affect ground beetle species richness and diversity. We conclude that (a) semi-natural grasslands and leys may not function as source habitats at a landscape-scale if they comprise a low proportion of the total land-use, while (b) increasing crop diversity is correlated to ground beetle richness and diversity in agricultural landscapes dominated by arable land. The beneficial effect of landscape-scale crop diversification on farmland biodiversity may depend on the general level of agricultural intensity of a region. (Less)
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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Agricultural landscapes, Agricultural management, Carabidae, Crop, diversification, Landscape heterogeneity, Species diversity, Species, richness, Trophic groups
in
Basic and Applied Ecology
volume
15
issue
3
pages
241 - 249
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000338606300006
  • scopus:84901856889
ISSN
1618-0089
DOI
10.1016/j.baae.2014.03.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5a313369-1d84-4fc5-9549-563401490351 (old id 4602503)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:16:12
date last changed
2022-07-22 00:29:28
@article{5a313369-1d84-4fc5-9549-563401490351,
  abstract     = {{Crop diversification and maintenance of semi-natural habitats (grasslands and field boundaries) are suggested to enhance farmland biodiversity, but the relative importance of these factors remains poorly known. We evaluated how crop diversity and availability of semi-natural grasslands at a landscape-scale interacted with local farming management (three management types from low to high intensity: ley &lt; winter wheat &lt; sugar beet) in their effect on ground beetle assemblages in southern Sweden. Ground beetle diversity increased with crop diversity either independently of local management (Simpson species diversity), or only in the less intensively managed habitats (rarefied species richness). While ground beetle diversity in leys tended to increase with field boundary length, no such relationship was observed in winter wheat or sugar beet fields. In contrast, the landscape proportions of leys and semi-natural grasslands did not affect ground beetle species richness and diversity. We conclude that (a) semi-natural grasslands and leys may not function as source habitats at a landscape-scale if they comprise a low proportion of the total land-use, while (b) increasing crop diversity is correlated to ground beetle richness and diversity in agricultural landscapes dominated by arable land. The beneficial effect of landscape-scale crop diversification on farmland biodiversity may depend on the general level of agricultural intensity of a region.}},
  author       = {{Palmu, Erkki and Ekroos, Johan and Hanson, Helena and Smith, Henrik and Hedlund, Katarina}},
  issn         = {{1618-0089}},
  keywords     = {{Agricultural landscapes; Agricultural management; Carabidae; Crop; diversification; Landscape heterogeneity; Species diversity; Species; richness; Trophic groups}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{241--249}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Basic and Applied Ecology}},
  title        = {{Landscape-scale crop diversity interacts with local management to determine ground beetle diversity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2014.03.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.baae.2014.03.001}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}