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Agriculture
Special Issues
Ecosystem Services and Biological Control in Agroecosystems
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Ecosystem Services and Biological Control in Agroecosystems

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Systems and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2024 | Viewed by 3173

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gemma Clemente-Orta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, AGROTECNIO Center, University of Lleida, Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Interests: ecosystem services; biological control; landscape ecology; plant-viruses; tritrophic interactions
Dr. Hugo Alejandro Alvarez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biogeography and Global Change, CSIC - National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN), Madrid, Spain
Interests: trophic interactions; biodiversity; conservation; ecology; allometry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the globalized world, the need to produce quality and safe food has increased exponentially over the last decades as a result of the growing world population. Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans derive from ecosystems and have rapidly been integrated into policies on biodiversity and sustainability. Food production and sustainable agriculture depend on a number of ecosystem services, but also to a large extent on human managements and interventions. However, agricultural intensification simplifies and modifies the agricultural landscape, disturbing the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides to agroecosystems, particularly the biological control. In biological control programs, the conservation of natural enemies is a critical element, implying the necessity of identifying the factors that limit the quantity and/or effectiveness of this.

This Special Issue will focus on ecosystem services and biological control in agroecosystems and include interdisciplinary studies embracing agriculture, with discussions of biology, ecology, taxonomy, chemistry and zoology. Research articles will cover a broad range of biological control from landscape ecology, ecosystem services, trophic interactions and the management of ecosystems. All types of submissions are welcome, such as original research, opinion, and review articles.

Dr. Gemma Clemente-Orta
Dr. Hugo Alejandro Alvarez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological control
  • ecosystem services
  • natural enemy
  • herbivores
  • pest control
  • agroecosystem and sustainability

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1212 KiB  
Article
Habitat Diversity Increases Chrysoperla carnea s.l. (Stephens, 1836) (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae) Abundance in Olive Landscapes
by Daniel Paredes, Sara Mendes and José Paulo Sousa
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 298; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020298 - 12 Feb 2024
Viewed by 941
Abstract
Chrysoperla carnea s.l., a vital predator in olive groves, plays a key role in reducing the reliance on pesticides. Despite its efficacy, habitat diversification at the landscape level can compromise its effectiveness as a generalist natural enemy, diverting its attention from olive [...] Read more.
Chrysoperla carnea s.l., a vital predator in olive groves, plays a key role in reducing the reliance on pesticides. Despite its efficacy, habitat diversification at the landscape level can compromise its effectiveness as a generalist natural enemy, diverting its attention from olive pests to other resources. To unravel its habitat preferences and maximize biocontrol services, a comprehensive study was conducted, collecting specimens monthly across diverse habitats in a Portuguese olive grove landscape. These habitats included shrublands, “montado,” grasslands, eucalyptus and pine forests, vineyards, and olive groves. The findings revealed C. carnea s.l. displayed a widespread presence in all habitats, with peak abundance initially observed in olive groves, coinciding with the presence of its preferred prey, Prays oleae. However, the peak abundance of this species varies among habitats, with the highest numbers initially observed in olive groves, gradually decreasing throughout the summer and reaching the lowest levels in vineyards. Significantly, habitat diversification at the landscape level contributes to an increased abundance of C. carnea s.l. in olive groves. This suggests that diversifying available resources aids in sustaining natural enemy populations in proximity to the targeted crop, thereby enhancing their efficacy in pest control. Consequently, we advocate for stakeholders in olive cultivation to promote landscape-scale habitat diversity by preserving, restoring, or fostering alternative habitats surrounding olive groves. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services and Biological Control in Agroecosystems)
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17 pages, 1574 KiB  
Article
Biochar Addition to a Mediterranean Agroecosystem: Short-Term Divergent Priming Effects
by Irene Raya-Moreno, Rosa Cañizares, Xavier Domene, Vicenç Carabassa and Josep Maria Alcañiz
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020242 - 01 Feb 2024
Viewed by 746
Abstract
The goal of this study was to evaluate biochar’s resistance to microbial decomposition and its impact on native soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. Conducted in a vineyard with a sandy loam Mediterranean soil with neutral pH and low organic carbon content, the experiment [...] Read more.
The goal of this study was to evaluate biochar’s resistance to microbial decomposition and its impact on native soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition. Conducted in a vineyard with a sandy loam Mediterranean soil with neutral pH and low organic carbon content, the experiment involved the application of 6.5 g biochar kg−1 derived from pine (PB) and corn cob (ZB). The monitoring period spanned two years, with soil samples collected at short- and medium-term timepoints (2 and 26 months post-application) and incubated in the lab for an additional 250 days. Soil respiration, the CO2-C isotopic signature, and dissolved organic carbon (DOChw) were assessed to identify potential priming effects (PE) and evaluate their persistence over two years. In the short term, biochar-induced priming effects were feedstock and pyrolysis temperature dependent, exhibiting negative priming in high-temperature wood biochar and positive priming in low-temperature grass biochar. The mechanism behind short-term positive priming was attributed to the higher labile organic carbon (OC) content in ZB compared to PB. In the medium term, initial strong priming effects shifted to slightly negative priming effects in both biochars, indicating the depletion of labile carbon fractions and the emergence of physical protection processes that mitigated priming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services and Biological Control in Agroecosystems)
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14 pages, 1736 KiB  
Article
Application of a Mechanistic Model to Explore Management Strategies for Biological Control of an Agricultural Pest
by Madeleine G. Barton, Hazel Parry, Paul A. Umina, Matthew R. Binns, Thomas Heddle, Ary A. Hoffmann, Joanne Holloway, Dustin Severtson, Maarten Van Helden, Samantha Ward, Rachel Wood and Sarina Macfadyen
Agriculture 2024, 14(1), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14010150 - 19 Jan 2024
Viewed by 817
Abstract
Despite the known benefits of integrated pest management, adoption in Australian broadacre crops has been slow, in part due to the lack of understanding about how pests and natural enemies interact. We use a previously developed process-based model to predict seasonal patterns in [...] Read more.
Despite the known benefits of integrated pest management, adoption in Australian broadacre crops has been slow, in part due to the lack of understanding about how pests and natural enemies interact. We use a previously developed process-based model to predict seasonal patterns in the population dynamics of a canola pest, the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), and an associated common primary parasitic wasp (Diaeretiella rapae), found in this cropping landscape. The model predicted aphid population outbreaks in autumn and spring. Diaeretiella rapae was able to suppress these outbreaks, but only in scenarios with a sufficiently high number of female wasps in the field (a simulated aphid:wasp density ratio of at least 5:1 was required). Model simulations of aphid-specific foliar pesticide applications facilitated biological control. However, a broad-spectrum pesticide negated the control provided by D. rapae, in one case leading to a predicted 15% increase in aphid densities compared to simulations in which no pesticide was applied. Biological and chemical control could therefore be used in combination for the successful management of the aphid while conserving the wasp. This modelling framework provides a versatile tool for further exploring how chemical applications can impact pests and candidate species for biological control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecosystem Services and Biological Control in Agroecosystems)
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