Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms

Land-use intensification is often associated with a decline in functional diversity, potentially undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, how changes in traits affect ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Variation in trait values among species in a community may drive ecosystem processes. Alternatively, the mass ratio hypothesis proposes that trait values of the dominant species in a local community are related to ecosystem processes. Using data from 159 farms in six European countries, we quantified the impact of local and landscape-level land-use intensity on ground beetles as pest control agents. We then assessed the extent to which functional diversity and community-weighted mean trait values relate to pest control and cereal yield. In addition, we assessed how the responses to land use and the effects of different species on pest control and yield varied with their traits to compare the relative impact of the traits studied. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid removal, but did not translate into higher crop yields. Pest control of aphids was enhanced by a higher proportion of smaller, mobile ground beetles with a preference for the vegetation layer. Smaller, predatory ground beetles in communities improved crop yield. The magnitude of responses to land-use intensification and the effects on pest control and yield were more strongly influenced by body size than other traits. Our study provides evidence that reduced management intensity can improve pest control by supporting small-sized, macropterous ground beetles. In contrast to the claims of ecological intensification, our joint analysis of the direct effects of land use on yield and indirect effects via functional diversity of ground beetles and pest control suggests that ecosystem services by ground beetles cannot compensate for the yield gap due to a reduction in land-use intensity.

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Publication Details

Journal
Ecological Applications
Published
2024-10-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3035
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Plant and animal studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.09

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article

Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms

Emmanuelle Kesse‐Guyot, Andrea Čerevková, Dara A. Stanley, Klaus Birkhofer et al.
3 citations
Ecological Applications
Plant and animal studies
3.09
article

Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms

Emmanuelle Kesse‐Guyot, Andrea Čerevková, Dara A. Stanley, Klaus Birkhofer, Róbert Gallé, Enrique G. de la Riva, Julia Baudry, Léa Beaumelle, Roman Bucher, Werner Ulrich, Ewa Rembiałkowska, Tara Dirilgen, Péter Batáry, Adrien Rusch
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Land-use intensification is often associated with a decline in functional diversity, potentially undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, how changes in traits affect ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Variation in trait values among species in a community may drive ecosystem processes. Alternatively, the mass ratio hypothesis proposes that trait values of the dominant species in a local community are related to ecosystem processes. Using data from 159 farms in six European countries, we quantified the impact of local and landscape-level land-use intensity on ground beetles as pest control agents. We then assessed the extent to which functional diversity and community-weighted mean trait values relate to pest control and cereal yield. In addition, we assessed how the responses to land use and the effects of different species on pest control and yield varied with their traits to compare the relative impact of the traits studied. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid removal, but did not translate into higher crop yields. Pest control of aphids was enhanced by a higher proportion of smaller, mobile ground beetles with a preference for the vegetation layer. Smaller, predatory ground beetles in communities improved crop yield. The magnitude of responses to land-use intensification and the effects on pest control and yield were more strongly influenced by body size than other traits. Our study provides evidence that reduced management intensity can improve pest control by supporting small-sized, macropterous ground beetles. In contrast to the claims of ecological intensification, our joint analysis of the direct effects of land use on yield and indirect effects via functional diversity of ground beetles and pest control suggests that ecosystem services by ground beetles cannot compensate for the yield gap due to a reduction in land-use intensity.

Ecological ApplicationsVol. 34(8)
University College Dublin (IE), Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Inserm (FR), National University of Ireland, Maynooth (IE), Université Paris Cité (FR), Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (DE), École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (FR), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord (FR), Institute of Ecology and Botany (HU), Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble (FR), Institute of Parasitology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (HU), Centre de Recherche Épidémiologie et Statistique (FR), Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (DE), Universidad de León (ES)
Slovenská Akadémia Vied, Biodiversa+, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Nemzeti Kutatási Fejlesztési és Innovációs Hivatal, Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig, National Research, Development and Innovation Office
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Plant and animal studies
3.09
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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