Tag: Agriculture

Research summaries

Honeybees and the boom and bust cycle of mass flowering crops

In this post Associate Editor Romina Rader discusses a recent paper she handled from Fabrice Requier and colleagues ‘The carry-over effects of pollen shortage decrease the survival of honeybee colonies in farmlands‘ When we think about pollinators within intensive agricultural systems, mass flowering crops (MFCs) seemingly act as both heroes and villains.  On the upside, many pollinators congregate at local mass flowering crops during the … Continue reading Honeybees and the boom and bust cycle of mass flowering crops

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Research summaries

The map matters: crop-dominated landscapes have higher vector-borne plant virus prevalence

In this post Suzi Claflin discusses her paper ‘Crop-dominated landscapes have higher vector-borne plant virus prevalence‘ It’s been clear for some time that landscape composition—that is, land-use types and the connections between them—strongly affects the community of creatures living in a given area. When it comes to insects, the landscape has been shown to shape the communities of both the ones we like, such as … Continue reading The map matters: crop-dominated landscapes have higher vector-borne plant virus prevalence

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Research summaries

Climate change and food security

In this post, Adam Frew discusses his paper ‘Increased root herbivory under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is reversed by silicon-based plant defences‘ As the global climate changes the global population continues to rise, we are faced with the daunting challenge of achieving sustainable crop production to meet the increasing demand for food. Professor John Beddington in 2009, UK chief scientist at the time, highlighted … Continue reading Climate change and food security

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Research summaries, Translation

Ecological intensification of agriculture: ideas that begin to take root – now with Spanish translation

In this post Nahuel Policelli discusses a recent paper by Timothy M. Bowles and colleagues ‘Ecological intensification and arbuscular mycorrhizas: a meta-analysis of tillage and cover crop effects‘ *Update: On 10 November, we added a Spanish translation of this post. Nahuel provided the translation to reach out to Spanish readers interested in this topic. Journal of Applied Ecology is dedicated to making papers more accessible … Continue reading Ecological intensification of agriculture: ideas that begin to take root – now with Spanish translation

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Research summaries

Avian pest control in vineyards

In this post Michelle Harrison and Cristina Banks-Leite discuss a recent paper by Luc Barbaro and colleagues ‘Avian pest control in vineyards is driven by interactions between bird functional diversity and landscape heterogeneity‘. The global wine industry currently contributes roughly US$303 billion to the world’s economy (Plant and Food Research, 2013). Wine is a key export for many European countries such as Italy, France and … Continue reading Avian pest control in vineyards

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Research summaries

Old villages are hot-spots of farmland bird diversity

In this post Zuzanna Rosin discusses her paper ‘Villages and their old farmsteads are hot-spots of bird diversity in agricultural landscapes‘, published today. The decline of farmland biodiversity is one of the major ecological and conservation problems in Europe. To date many efforts have been made to slow down the rate of this process, however, recent studies confirm ongoing negative trends. To counteract this decline, it … Continue reading Old villages are hot-spots of farmland bird diversity

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Research summaries

Not all herbivores are created equal – Characterizing population-level damage potential in migratory pests

In this post Gina Angelella discusses the recent paper from Sanford Eigenbrode and colleagues ‘Host-adapted aphid populations differ in their migratory patterns and capacity to colonize crops‘ When encountering a migratory insect such as a winged aphid, how confidently can one predict its origins and threat to crops? It is tricky enough to track the dispersal of a homogeneous species, but the addition of population-level … Continue reading Not all herbivores are created equal – Characterizing population-level damage potential in migratory pests

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Research summaries

Applying fertilizer? Don’t forget about pollination

In this post Stijn van Gils discusses his paper with Wim van der Putten and David Kleijn. ‘Can above-ground ecosystem services compensate for reduced fertilizer input and soil organic matter in annual crops?’ You can also read this post in Dutch. Farmers often try to increase yield directly through ploughing, and the addition of fertilizers and agro-chemicals. Yield, however, is also affected by ecological interactions, … Continue reading Applying fertilizer? Don’t forget about pollination

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Careers, The Applied Ecologist community

Ecological traits shape bee species’ fates in European agriculture

In this post Adriana De Palma discusses her recent paper ‘Ecological traits affect the sensitivity of bees to land-use pressures in European agricultural landscapes’. The article is open access courtesy of Imperial College London. For International Women’s Day, we asked Adriana about her career in science and the challenges and improvements she is seeing in STEM. You can read all of our posts for International … Continue reading Ecological traits shape bee species’ fates in European agriculture

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Research summaries

Managing ecosystem services: a grassland experiment

In this post Katherine Orford discusses her recent paper ‘Modest enhancements to conventional grassland diversity improve the provision of pollination services‘ You can also read a blog post from the Associate Editor who handled this paper, Peter Manning here: Pastures new for pollinators? Grassland diversity Species-rich grasslands were once widespread across Western Europe. However, post-war agricultural intensification has resulted in wide-scale conversion of these diverse grasslands … Continue reading Managing ecosystem services: a grassland experiment

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