Diversifying plant communities in vineyards to increase natural pest control services

Léa Beaumelle and Adrien Rusch introduce their team’s latest research exploring different landscape contexts to identify ways to best foster natural pest control on agricultural lands. Insects and arthropods play key roles in agricultural systems. Arthropods comprise pests, such as aphids or caterpillars, but also beneficial organisms: predators such as spiders and ground beetles (natural enemies) prey upon insect pests and limit pest populations. As … Continue reading Diversifying plant communities in vineyards to increase natural pest control services

Una mayor cobertura forestal y matrices menos contrastantes mejoran el servicio de remoción de carroña por insectos carroñeros en paisajes tropicales

This post is also available in English (here) and Portuguese (here). Animales muertos es algo que mucha gente prefiere evitar: son visualmente desagradable, huelen realmente… simplemente son espantosos. Sin embargo, los animales involucrados en la descomposición de la carroña juegan un papel clave en la funcionalidad del ecosistema. Animales carroñeros (como buitres, algunos mamíferos o insectos) previene la acumulación de cadáveres, facilitan la distribución y … Continue reading Una mayor cobertura forestal y matrices menos contrastantes mejoran el servicio de remoción de carroña por insectos carroñeros en paisajes tropicales

Maior cobertura florestal e matrizes menos contrastantes melhoram o serviço de remoção de carniça por insetos necrófagos em paisagens tropicais

This post is also available in English (here) and Spanish (here). Carniça é algo que as pessoas evitam: é algo visualmente desagradável, cheira muito mal… é simplesmente horrível. Entretanto, os animais envolvidos na decomposição da carniça tem um papel chave na funcionalidade do ecossistema. Animais necrófagos (i.e., que se alimentam de carniça) como os urubús, alguns mamíferos e insetos, previnem a acumulação de carcaças, facilitam … Continue reading Maior cobertura florestal e matrizes menos contrastantes melhoram o serviço de remoção de carniça por insetos necrófagos em paisagens tropicais

Higher forest cover and less contrasting matrices improve carrion removal service by scavenger insects in tropical landscapes

This post is also available in Spanish (here) and Portuguese (here) In their latest research, Alvarado-Montero et al. assess the impact of landscape structure and matrix contrast on carrion removal by scavenger insects, an often overlooked but crucial ecosystem service which is important for nutrient cycling and disease control. Carrion is something that many people choose to avoid. However, animals involved in carrion decomposition play … Continue reading Higher forest cover and less contrasting matrices improve carrion removal service by scavenger insects in tropical landscapes

Issue 55:1

To start 2018, we’ve compiled some of the highlights for our first issue of the year. As well as a Special Feature on Functional traits in agroecology, issue 55:1 includes topics such as conservation, invasives and agricultural landscapes. Here we take a look at some of the author and Editor comments on articles in this issue: Special Feature: Functional traits in agroecology Authors from the … Continue reading Issue 55:1

Landscape structure and human management influence biodiversity value of livestock production systems

In this post Associate Editor, Elizabeth Nichols  and student, Jordan Reyes comment on the recent paper by Alvarado et al.,The role of livestock intensification and landscape structure in maintaining tropical biodiversity, published in Journal of Applied Ecology. The United Nations predicts that by the year 2050 the world population will have increased by 34%, reaching nearly 9.7 billion people. How can we support this growing human … Continue reading Landscape structure and human management influence biodiversity value of livestock production systems