The interplay of landscape composition and configuration: new pathways to manage functional biodiversity and agroecosystem services across Europe

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 22; no. 7; pp. 1083 - 1094
• Main Authors: Martin, Emily A., Dainese, Matteo, Clough, Yann, Báldi, András, Bommarco, Riccardo, Gagic, Vesna, Garratt, Michael P.D., Holzschuh, Andrea, Kleijn, David, Kovács‐Hostyánszki, Anikó, Marini, Lorenzo, Potts, Simon G., Smith, Henrik G., Al Hassan, Diab, Albrecht, Matthias, Andersson, Georg K.S., Asís, Josep D., Aviron, Stéphanie, Balzan, Mario V., Baños‐Picón, Laura, Bartomeus, Ignasi, Batáry, Péter, Burel, Francoise, Caballero‐López, Berta, Concepción, Elena D., Coudrain, Valérie, Dänhardt, Juliana, Diaz, Mario, Diekötter, Tim, Dormann, Carsten F., Duflot, Rémi, Entling, Martin H., Farwig, Nina, Fischer, Christina, Frank, Thomas, Garibaldi, Lucas A., Hermann, John, Herzog, Felix, Inclán, Diego, Jacot, Katja, Jauker, Frank, Jeanneret, Philippe, Kaiser, Marina, Krauss, Jochen, Le Féon, Violette, Marshall, Jon, Moonen, Anna‐Camilla, Moreno, Gerardo, Riedinger, Verena, Rundlöf, Maj, Rusch, Adrien, Scheper, Jeroen, Schneider, Gudrun, Schüepp, Christof, Stutz, Sonja, Sutter, Louis, Tamburini, Giovanni, Thies, Carsten, Tormos, José, Tscharntke, Teja, Tschumi, Matthias, Uzman, Deniz, Wagner, Christian, Zubair‐Anjum, Muhammad, Steffan‐Dewenter, Ingolf, Scherber, Christoph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2019; Wiley
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural land; Agricultural management; Agriculture; Agroecology; Animals; Arable land; arthropod community; Arthropoda; Arthropods; Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Biologi; biological control; Biological Sciences; Composition effects; Configuration management; Configurations; Crop fields; Crop yield; Crops; Crops, Agricultural; Density; Diet; Dispersal; Ecology; Ecosystem; Ecosystem services; edge density; Ekologi; Environmental Sciences; Europe; Habitats; Landscape; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Overwintering; Pest control; Pests; Plant reproduction; Pollination; response trait; semi-natural habitat; Sustainable agriculture; trait syndrome; yield; Europe; pollination; yield; biological control; pest control; trait syndrome; Agroecology; arthropod community; edge density; response trait; semi-natural habitat
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.13265

Managing agricultural landscapes to support biodiversity and ecosystem services is a key aim of a sustainable agriculture. However, how the spatial arrangement of crop fields and other habitats in landscapes impacts arthropods and their functions is poorly known. Synthesising data from 49 studies (1515 landscapes) across Europe, we examined effects of landscape composition (% habitats) and configuration (edge density) on arthropods in fields and their margins, pest control, pollination and yields. Configuration effects interacted with the proportions of crop and non‐crop habitats, and species’ dietary, dispersal and overwintering traits led to contrasting responses to landscape variables. Overall, however, in landscapes with high edge density, 70% of pollinator and 44% of natural enemy species reached highest abundances and pollination and pest control improved 1.7‐ and 1.4‐fold respectively. Arable‐dominated landscapes with high edge densities achieved high yields. This suggests that enhancing edge density in European agroecosystems can promote functional biodiversity and yield‐enhancing ecosystem services.