A landscape perspective in managing vegetation for beneficial plant-pest-natural enemy interactions: A foundation for areawide pest management

Authors: BREWER, MICHAEL - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV; NOMA, TAKUJI - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV; Elliott, Norman - Norm

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2007
Publication Date: 3/1/2008
Citation: Brewer, M.J., Noma, T., Elliott, N.C. 2008. A landscape perspective in managing vegetation for beneficial plant-pest-natural enemy interactions: A foundation for areawide pest management. In: Koul, O., Cuperus, G.W., and Elliott, N.C., editors. Areawide Pest Management: Theory and Implementation. CAB International, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK. p. 81-96.

Interpretive Summary: In the United States cropping systems designed for high production output are significant features of the landscape. Deployment of mechanized and high input cropping systems over the last half-century have resulted in substantial transformation and fragmentation of major grassland, shrub land and woodland systems. These cropping systems are typically less diverse in species composition, structure and ecological functioning than found in the original plant community. For agriculture, declines in agroecosystem diversity can result in increased crop herbivory and decreased beneficial organisms that feed on pests. A landscape perspective can help refine vegetative-based management approaches to pest management locally within or adjacent to agricultural fields of interest. Adding a landscape perspective provides ecosystem context in which plant-pest-natural enemy interactions must function, with more regional effects possibly impeding, enhancing or not affecting outcomes of species interactions at the lower organizational level of individual fields. A review of landscape characteristics and principles applicable to management of pests is provided in this chapter. We also introduce landscape analysis approaches for characterizing and assessing landscape composition, structure, and scale of vegetation relevant to plant-pest-natural enemy interactions. Throughout, we use a case example on regulation of cereal aphids by natural enemies in North America, and supplemental examples of similar plant-pest-natural enemy systems in Europe. The significance of this work is that it provides an understanding that the role of vegetation in plant-pest-natural enemy interactions increases with a landscape perspective and positions practitioners to best apply vegetation-based approaches in pest management.

Technical Abstract: In the United States cropping systems designed for high production output are significant features of the landscape. Deployment of mechanized and high input cropping systems over the last half-century have resulted in substantial transformation and fragmentation of major grassland, shrub land and woodland systems. These cropping systems are typically less diverse in species composition, structure and ecological functioning than found in the original plant community. For agriculture, declines in agroecosystem diversity can result in increased crop herbivory and decreased beneficial organisms that feed on pests. A landscape perspective can help refine vegetative-based management approaches to pest management locally within or adjacent to agricultural fields of interest. Adding a landscape perspective provides ecosystem context in which plant-pest-natural enemy interactions must function, with more regional effects possibly impeding, enhancing or not affecting outcomes of species interactions at the lower organizational level of individual fields. A review of landscape characteristics and principles applicable to management of pests is provided in this chapter. We also introduce landscape analysis approaches for characterizing and assessing landscape composition, structure, and scale of vegetation relevant to plant-pest-natural enemy interactions. Throughout, we use a case example on regulation of cereal aphids by natural enemies in North America, and supplemental examples of similar plant-pest-natural enemy systems in Europe. We propose that understanding of the role of vegetation in plant-pest-natural enemy interactions increases with a landscape perspective and positions practitioners to best apply vegetation-based approaches in pest management, both locally and areawide.