TY - JOUR
T1 - Invertebrates in field margins: taxonomic group diversity and functional group abundance in relation to age
AU - Noordijk, J.
AU - Musters, C. J. M.
AU - van Dijk, J.
AU - de Snoo, G. R.
N1 - ISI Document Delivery No.: 663GG Times Cited: 21 Cited Reference Count: 71 Noordijk, Jinze Musters, C. J. M. van Dijk, Jerry de Snoo, Geert R. van Dijk, Jerry/C-6197-2009; Musters, Cornelis/K-7828-2013; de Snoo, geert/M-4315-2013 van Dijk, Jerry/0000-0002-1945-9415; Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) [474-03-385] We are indebted to E. Gertenaar and R. van der Poll for assistance during the fieldwork and invertebrate counting and to A. M. Lokhorst and H. Staats for input in the study design. In addition, we would like to thank all the representatives of the participating farmer collectives and all the individual farmers for their efforts in contributing to this research and allowing us to perform the field sampling. We are also grateful to N. Harle for his correction of the English. This study was financially supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Grant No. 474-03-385. 23 1 32 Springer Dordrecht 1572-9710
<Go to ISI>://WOS:000282870700015
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Sown, temporary field margins are a common agri-environment scheme (AES) in the Netherlands. Despite their wide application, though, there has been scarcely any long-term monitoring of the succession of invertebrates. In the field margins of 40 farms, invertebrate diversity and the abundance of three functional groups were assessed in relation to age. The diversity in terms of number of species groups was found to increase with the age of the margins. The abundance of herbivores and detritivores also showed a positive correlation with the age of the margins. However, the abundance of predators decreased with increasing age. Older margins showed a higher total vegetation cover and fewer plant species, also resulting in lower plant species evenness. We suggest several changes to the current AES regulations. For the conservation of invertebrate diversity, longer-lasting field margins are desirable. In addition, old margins are favoured by detritivores, a group that has particular difficulty finding suitable habitats in agricultural landscapes. However, such margins are less favourable from an agricultural perspective, as they appear unsuitable for high abundances of potentially useful predators and the high vegetation cover attracts many potentially harmful herbivores. To circumvent this, the AES might be extended by incorporating hay-making, which would reduce standing biomass and might lead to more predators and fewer herbivores.
AB - Sown, temporary field margins are a common agri-environment scheme (AES) in the Netherlands. Despite their wide application, though, there has been scarcely any long-term monitoring of the succession of invertebrates. In the field margins of 40 farms, invertebrate diversity and the abundance of three functional groups were assessed in relation to age. The diversity in terms of number of species groups was found to increase with the age of the margins. The abundance of herbivores and detritivores also showed a positive correlation with the age of the margins. However, the abundance of predators decreased with increasing age. Older margins showed a higher total vegetation cover and fewer plant species, also resulting in lower plant species evenness. We suggest several changes to the current AES regulations. For the conservation of invertebrate diversity, longer-lasting field margins are desirable. In addition, old margins are favoured by detritivores, a group that has particular difficulty finding suitable habitats in agricultural landscapes. However, such margins are less favourable from an agricultural perspective, as they appear unsuitable for high abundances of potentially useful predators and the high vegetation cover attracts many potentially harmful herbivores. To circumvent this, the AES might be extended by incorporating hay-making, which would reduce standing biomass and might lead to more predators and fewer herbivores.
KW - Agri-environment scheme Diversity Epigeic fauna Feeding guilds Succession agri-environment schemes plant-species richness agricultural landscapes european countries farmed landscapes soil biodiversity arable farmland ditch banks management habitat Biodive
U2 - 10.1007/s10531-010-9890-1
DO - 10.1007/s10531-010-9890-1
M3 - Article
SN - 0960-3115
VL - 19
SP - 3255
EP - 3268
JO - Biodiversity and Conservation
JF - Biodiversity and Conservation
IS - 11
ER -