Functional biodiversity: mechanisms by which plant and invertebrate communities function in the arable ecosystem
Lead Research Organisation:
Rothamsted Research
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
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Technical Summary
Aim: To establish the mechanisms by which plant and invertebrate communities function in the arable ecosystem to maintain a) productivity of crops and b) survival and resilience of non-cropped biodiversity.
Approach: Research in this project will test the hypothesis that trait-based, genetic and behavioural mechanisms can be used to predict evolutionary and functional responses to changes in land management, habitat diversity and spatial and temporal resource availability. The project brings together Rothamsted's work on the role of arable plants, pollinators, herbivores and their natural enemies (pathogens, predators and parasitoids) in the ecological functioning of arable landscapes, building primarily on Rothamsted's strength in studying multi-trophic interactions at a variety of spatial scales.
Objectives:
1. Use a functional trait approach to predict the response of arable plant communities to changes in land use and management and the resulting effect on the ecosystem functions they perform including support of beneficial biodiversity.
2. Examine strategies of resource exploration and exploitation by pests and beneficial organisms (pollinators and natural enemies) within farmland, to predict patchy resource utilisation over space and time.
3. Measure how pollination and the spatial dynamics of pollen flow in crops and wild plants are affected directly by landscape context and management; and indirectly by the effects of these drivers on pollinator abundance and behaviour.
4. Test whether the stability of natural enemy communities is increased by habitat diversity (allowing co-existence by niche differentiation) and if the distribution of pests and their natural enemies can be predictably manipulated by habitat management to enhance pest control.
Approach: Research in this project will test the hypothesis that trait-based, genetic and behavioural mechanisms can be used to predict evolutionary and functional responses to changes in land management, habitat diversity and spatial and temporal resource availability. The project brings together Rothamsted's work on the role of arable plants, pollinators, herbivores and their natural enemies (pathogens, predators and parasitoids) in the ecological functioning of arable landscapes, building primarily on Rothamsted's strength in studying multi-trophic interactions at a variety of spatial scales.
Objectives:
1. Use a functional trait approach to predict the response of arable plant communities to changes in land use and management and the resulting effect on the ecosystem functions they perform including support of beneficial biodiversity.
2. Examine strategies of resource exploration and exploitation by pests and beneficial organisms (pollinators and natural enemies) within farmland, to predict patchy resource utilisation over space and time.
3. Measure how pollination and the spatial dynamics of pollen flow in crops and wild plants are affected directly by landscape context and management; and indirectly by the effects of these drivers on pollinator abundance and behaviour.
4. Test whether the stability of natural enemy communities is increased by habitat diversity (allowing co-existence by niche differentiation) and if the distribution of pests and their natural enemies can be predictably manipulated by habitat management to enhance pest control.
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
Publications
Brooks DR
(2012)
Trophic links between functional groups of arable plants and beetles are stable at a national scale.
in The Journal of animal ecology
Butler S
(2009)
A cross-taxonomic index for quantifying the health of farmland biodiversity
in Journal of Applied Ecology
Carvell C
(2011)
Bumble bee species' responses to a targeted conservation measure depend on landscape context and habitat quality.
in Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America
Carvell C
(2015)
Effects of an agri-environment scheme on bumblebee reproduction at local and landscape scales
in Basic and Applied Ecology
Carvell C.
(2011)
Bumble bee species' responses to a targeted conservation measure depend on landscape context and habitat quality
in ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
De Bello F
(2010)
Towards an assessment of multiple ecosystem processes and services via functional traits
in Biodiversity and Conservation
Henderson I
(2012)
Effects of the proportion and spatial arrangement of un-cropped land on breeding bird abundance in arable rotations
in Journal of Applied Ecology
Hesketh H
(2009)
Challenges in modelling complexity of fungal entomopathogens in semi-natural populations of insects
in BioControl
Jacobs J
(2009)
Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)
in Arthropod-Plant Interactions
Jacobs JH
(2009)
Pollination biology of fruit-bearing hedgerow plants and the role of flower-visiting insects in fruit-set.
in Annals of botany
| Description | • Insects demonstrate predictable searching, foraging and dispersal patterns that can be used to model their use of heterogeneous cropped landscapes and thus predict their function as pests, pollinators or natural enemies of pests. • Relationships between plant functional traits and invertebrate communities are consistent across multiple scales. • There are trade-offs between the ecosystem services delivered by field margins related to contrasting plant ecological strategies. • The response of weed and arable plant communities to changes in management are predictable from statistical and process based models operating at the level of the functional trait. • The amount of un-cropped land required for the delivery of ecosystem services can be minimised by optimising the multi-functionality of plant communities. |
| Exploitation Route | In the development of future agri-environment policies and options, and in the development of conservation strategies for invertebrates and plants living in arable landscapes |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Environment |
| Description | The work on functional relationships between arable plant communities and invertebrate ecosystem service providers (including pollinators, biocontrol agents and chick-food for farmland birds) provided the evidence base and models for building a framework for optimising the amount and spatial arrangement of un-cropped land in the farmed landscape. These models have been used subsequently in larger, systems level frameworks that facilitate the analysis of trade-offs between contrasting land use scenarios to optimise systems under different biophysical, economic and policy environments. We now have the capability to predict the impact of changes in management at the field and landscape scale on the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. The establishment of a research base on natural capital and ecosystem services also laid the scientific foundation for new experimental platforms that seek to validate and manipulate these trade-offs, including the North Wyke Farm Platform. Data and findings from the project have been used in discussions with natural England around the development and future of Uk agri-environment options. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2016 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment |
| Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |