IFEVA   02662
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES FISIOLOGICAS Y ECOLOGICAS VINCULADAS A LA AGRICULTURA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Diversity of weeds and arthropods in fencerows is enhanced when crop types at both adjoining fields are different
Autor/es:
MOLINA, GONZALO A. R.; POGGIO SANTIAGO L.; GHERSA CLAUDIO M.
Lugar:
Hangzhou
Reunión:
Congreso; 6th International Weed Science Congress; 2012
Institución organizadora:
IWSS, WSSA and EWRS
Resumen:
Plant communities
within fields and their surroundings have been considered as drivers of
biodiversity in agricultural areas. Linear habitats, such as fencerows and
field margins, usually sustain higher plant diversity than within fields due to
the greater environmental stability, which
may enhance the biodiversity of adjoining
fields. This study is aimed at
testing if crop
heterogeneity at adjoining fields affects fencerow weed and arthropods assemblages and
discuss its importance to functional biodiversity in landscapes with highly
intensified agriculture. We selected homogeneous
and heterogeneous pairs of fields separated by fencerows. Weed and arthropod
species were recorded at different distance to fencerow (0, 4, 20 and, 100 m). Mean species richness
and similarity index (Jaccard) were calculated.
Results report that
both weed and arthropod fencerow assemblages are significantly affected by the
level of heterogeneity of the adjoining fields. The richness of weed species in
fencerows intersecting heterogeneous neighbourhoods and the abundance of
non-herbivore arthropods are greater than those of fencerows dividing
homogeneous neighbourhoods. Differences in fencerow
assemblages were not caused by an additive effect of species associated to
different crops. Species assemblages of fencerows intersecting heterogeneous
cropping neighbourhoods are composed by species that are not found in the adjoining
fields. This suggests that field interface offers a habitat suitable for more
diverse assemblages when crops sharing it are different. Heterogeneous neighbourhoods effects on assemblage´s
diversity occurs despite of the fact
that the fields in this study share the same agricultural history over the last
thirty years, and the difference in neighbourhood cropping heterogeneity changes
on a yearly base. Differences in
fencerow weed assemblages are also found within the adjoining fields at
increasing distance to fencerow. Cropland heterogeneity provided by crop
diversification affect fencerow habitats promoting diverse weed and arthropods
communities, which are important for sustaining farmland biodiversity and
ecosystem services.