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Understanding the response of biodiversity to organic farming is crucial to design more sustainable agriculture. While it is known that organic farming benefits biodiversity on average, large variability in the effects of this farming system exists. Moreover, it is not clear how different practices modulate the performance of organic farming for biodiversity conservation. In this study, we investigated how the abundance and taxonomic richness of multiple species groups responds to certified organic farming and conventional farming in vineyards. Our analyses revealed that farming practices at the field scale are more important drivers of community abundance than landscape context. Organic farming enhanced the abundances of springtails (+ 31.6%) and spiders (+ 84%), had detrimental effects on pollinator abundance (− 11.6%) and soil microbial biomass (− 9.1%), and did not affect the abundance of ground beetles, mites or microarthropods. Farming practices like tillage regime, insecticide use and soil copper content drove most of the detected effects of farming system on biodiversity. Our study revealed varying effects of organic farming on biodiversity and clearly indicates the need to consider farming practices to understand the effects of farming systems on farmland biodiversity.

Increasing landscape complexity can enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services in agroecosystems. However, policies based on conversion of arable land into semi-natural habitats to increase landscape complexity and ecosystem services can be difficult to implement. Although it appears to be a promising management option, nothing is known about the effect of increasing landscape diversity through crop rotations on the delivery of ecosystem services. In this study, we examined how landscape complexity and crop rotation intensity in the landscape at different spatial scales affect the flow and the stability of natural pest control services in barley fields using manipulative cage experiments. Exclusion experiments revealed that natural enemies can have a strong impact on aphid population growth and that the delivery of pest control services is strongly dependent on the landscape context. We found that the overall level of pest control increased with landscape complexity and that this effect was independent of crop rotation intensity. In addition, the within-field stability in pest control services increased with crop rotation intensity in the landscape, although stability in parasitism rates decreased. Multiple spatial scales analyses showed that the mean level of natural pest control was best predicted by landscape complexity at the 0 center dot 5-km and the 1-km spatial scales. The stability in overall pest control decreased with proportion of ley at the 2 center dot 5-km and the 3-km spatial scales. Synthesis and applications. Our study disentangled, for the first time, the relative effects of landscape complexity and crop rotation intensity on the delivery of an ecosystem service. We show that combined management of semi-natural habitat and crop rotation can stabilize and enhance natural pest control in agricultural landscapes. Our findings have important implications in terms of management options to maintain and enhance ecosystem services in agroecosystems. They suggest that conservation of heterogeneous landscapes, characterized by a higher proportion of semi-natural habitats such as pastures and relatively small fields, is essential for maintaining and enhancing effective biological control in agroecosystems.

Organic farming is seen as a prototype of ecological intensification potentially able to conciliate crop productivity and biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes. However, how natural enemies, an important functional group supporting pest control services, respond to organic farming at different scales and in different landscape contexts remain unclear. Using a hierarchical design within a vineyard‐dominated region located in southwestern France, we examine the independent effects of organic farming and semi‐natural habitats at the local and landscape scales on natural enemies. We show that the proportion of organic farming is a stronger driver of species abundance than the proportion of semi‐natural habitats and is an important facet of landscape heterogeneity shaping natural enemy assemblages. Although our study highlights a strong taxonomic group‐dependency about the effect of organic farming, organic farming benefits to dominant species while rare species occur at the same frequency in the two farming systems. Independently of farming systems, enhancing field age, reducing crop productivity, soil tillage intensity, and pesticide use are key management options to increase natural enemy biodiversity. Our study indicates that policies promoting the expansion of organic farming will benefit more to ecological intensification strategies seeking to enhance ecosystem services than to biodiversity conservation. Within viticultural landscapes, the proportion of organic farming is a stronger driver of species abundance than the proportion of semi‐natural habitats and it is an important facet of landscape heterogeneity shaping natural enemy assemblages. Although our study highlights a strong taxonomic group dependency about the effect of organic farming, organic farming benefits to dominant species while rare species occur at the same frequency in the two farming systems.

Increasing plant diversity in agricultural systems is a promising way to balance food production and biodiversity conservation. Biological pest control, a crucial ecosystem service delivered by natural enemies, could particularly benefit from increased plant diversity at the local scale. Such positive effects however often depend on the landscape context that shapes the pool of natural enemy species available and their ability to colonize newly created habitats. However, how the landscape context modulates the local effect of plant diversity on natural enemies and pest control services remains unclear. Here, we manipulated the diversity of cover crops (2 versus 20 plant species) in nine pairs of vineyards located along a landscape gradient ranging from 20 to 60% of semi‐natural habitats. We sampled natural enemy communities in the soil and foliage and measured the predation rate of an important moth pest in European vineyards (Lobesia botrana). Diverse cover crops enhanced the abundance of natural enemies by 140% across the experiment, but without changing their taxonomic richness and composition. We further found a distance‐decay effect of cover crops on natural enemy abundance across cover crop types. The landscape context remarkably modulated the effects of local plant diversity on natural enemy abundance and predation rates. While predation rates were on average similar in the low and high cover crop diversity treatments across the experiment, diverse cover crops had higher positive effects on predation and natural enemies in simple (<50% semi‐natural habitats) than complex landscapes. Predation rates increased from 11 to 42% in the high compared with low cover crop diversity treatments in simple landscapes. Synthesis and applications: Our study demonstrates the benefits of increasing plant diversity at the local scale to enhance the abundance of natural enemies as well as the level of biological pest control services in vineyard agroecosystems. Diverse cover crops mostly benefit natural enemies and biological pest control in simplified landscapes, highlighting that the success of local agroecological practices in improving biodiversity and ecosystem services depends on the landscape context. Thus, we suggest that a strategic spatial arrangement of agricultural practices increasing local plant diversity is necessary to maximize beneficial effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Abstrait Augmenter la diversité des couverts végétaux dans les systèmes agricoles représente une manière prometteuse de concilier production agricole et conservation de la biodiversité. La régulation biologique des ravageurs, un service écosystémique clé rendu par les ennemis naturels, pourrait tout particulièrement bénéficier de l'augmentation de la diversité végétale au niveau local. Cependant, de tels effets positifs pourraient dépendre du contexte paysager, car celui‐ci détermine le pool d'ennemis naturels disponible et leur capacité à coloniser les nouveaux habitats créés par l’établissement de couverts végétaux diversifiés. La manière dont le paysage module l'effet local de la diversité végétale sur les ennemis naturels et le service de régulation biologique reste pourtant mal connue. Dans cette étude, nous avons manipulé la diversité du couvert végétal (2 versus 20 espèces de plantes) à l'intérieur des parcelles de 9 paires de vignes situées le long d'un gradient paysager allant de 20 à 60% d'habitats semi‐naturels. Nous avons échantillonné les ennemis naturels du sol et du feuillage de la vigne, et mesuré les taux de prédation d'un papillon ravageur important dans les vignobles européens (Lobesia botrana). Les résultats indiquent que les couverts végétaux plus diversifiés augmentent l'abondance des ennemis naturels de 140% en moyenne, mais sans changer la richesse taxonomique et la composition des communautés d'ennemis naturels. Dans les deux traitements, l'abondance des ennemis naturels diminuait à mesure que l'on s’éloignait des couverts végétaux semés. Notre étude montre que le contexte paysager détermine l'effet des couverts végétaux diversifiés sur l'abondance des ennemis naturels et les taux de prédation. Si les taux de prédation étaient en moyenne similaires dans les couverts végétaux peu et fortement diversifiés à travers les paysages, les couverts plus diversifiés avaient des effets positifs plus importants sur la prédation et les ennemis naturels dans les paysages simplifiés (< 50% d'habitats semi‐naturels) que dans des paysages complexes. Dans ces paysages simplifiés, les taux de prédation ont augmenté de 11 à 42% dans les couverts végétaux diversifiés par rapport aux couverts peu diversifiés. Synthèse et application : Cette étude montre qu'augmenter la diversité locale des plantes permet d'accroître l'abondance des ennemis naturels et le service de régulation des ravageurs dans les vignobles, tout particulièrement dans des contextes paysagers simplifiés, avec de faibles proportions d'habitats naturels. Cela souligne que l'efficacité des pratiques agro‐écologiques locales à accroître la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques dépend du contexte paysager. Un arrangement spatial stratégique des pratiques agro‐écologiques qui s'appuient sur l'augmentation de la diversité végétale est donc nécessaire pour maximiser ses effets bénéfiques sur la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques. Increasing the diversity of cover crops in vineyards enhanced the abundance of natural enemies by 140% overall. Predation rates of an important moth pest also increased, particularly in simple landscapes (from 20 to 50% of semi‐natural habitats in a 1 km radius around each field).

A considerable body of evidence has demonstrated the positive impact of the diversity of plant species on biological control of pests at the field scale. However, very few studies have assessed the effect of crop diversity on natural enemy performance and pest control. In order to test our hypothesis that crop diversity could increase natural enemy development and performance, we examined the mechanisms underlying the effect of two types of crop succession, i.e., multiple-crop succession (tomato, squash and soybean) and mono-crop succession (each crop alone), on population dynamics, predation capacity and spillover of Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera Miridae) in a greenhouse experiment. We found that (1) the polyculture supported lower population growth of N. tenuis and lower predation rates of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera Pyralidae) eggs compared to tomato and squash monocultures, but that correspondingly (2) the predator performed better on the polyculture than on the soybean monoculture. These results revealed that crop identity within the succession is a major factor in determining population dynamics and biological control. We found that compared to soybean monoculture, the presence of soybean Glycine max L. (Fabales Fabaceae) in the polyculture treatment reduced the population dynamics of the mirid predator but increased biological control. This result suggests that non-host crops in a polycultural succession could benefit from the natural enemy populations that were increased by other suitable crops in the succession.

Ample evidence suggests positive effects of species diversity on ecosystem functioning and services in natural and agricultural landscapes. Less obvious and even contested are the effects of such diversity on human well‐being. This state of art partly stems from methodological difficulties to evaluate and quantify these effects and imprecise conceptual frameworks. Here we propose a conceptual framework that links different aspects of diversity, particularly species and genetic richness, to ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services and disservices, and different aspects of well‐being. We review current approaches for the study of diversity–well‐being relationships and identify shortcomings and principle obstacles, mainly stemming from theoretical premises that are too imprecise. We discuss five basic methodological approaches to link diversity to well‐being: matrix models, indirect inference, Price partitioning, structural equation modelling, and environmental inference. We call for a stricter terminology with respect to the different aspects of functioning, multifunctionality and well‐being and highlight the need to evaluate each step in the different pathways from diversity to well‐being. A full understanding of ecological constraints on human well‐being requires consideration of trade‐offs in diversity effects, of contrasting perceptions of well‐being, and of ecosystem disservices. We also call for appropriate long‐term socio‐ecological research platforms to gather relevant data about ecosystem functioning and well‐being across space and time. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Zusammenfassung Zahlreiche Befunde deuten auf eine positive Auswirkung der Artenvielfalt auf das Funktionieren und die Leistungen von Ökosystemen in Natur‐ und Agrarlandschaften hin. Weniger offensichtlich und sogar umstritten sind die Auswirkungen einer solchen Vielfalt auf das menschliche Wohlergehen. Diese Wissenslücke ist teilweise auf methodologische Schwierigkeiten bei der Bewertung und Quantifizierung dieser Effekte und auf ungenaue konzeptionelle Rahmenbedingungen zurückzuführen. Wir schlagen hier einen konzeptionellen Rahmen vor, der verschiedene Aspekte der Vielfalt, insbesondere des Arten‐ und genetischen Reichtums, mit Ökosystemfunktionen, Ökosystemleistungen und ‐dysfunktionen und verschiedenen Aspekten des Wohlergehens verbindet. Wir beleuchten aktuelle Ansätze zur Untersuchung von Beziehungen zwischen Vielfalt und Wohlergehen und identifizieren Mängel und prinzipielle Hindernisse, die hauptsächlich auf zu ungenauen theoretischen Prämissen beruhen. Wir diskutieren fünf grundlegende methodologische Ansätze, um Diversität mit Wohlergehen zu verknüpfen: Matrixmodelle, indirekte Inferenz, Price‐Partitionierung, Pfadanalysen und Umweltinferenz. Wir plädieren für eine strengere Terminologie in Bezug auf die verschiedenen Aspekte des Funktionierens, der Multifunktionalität und des Wohlergehens und betonen die Notwendigkeit, jeden Schritt auf den verschiedenen Pfaden von der ökologischen Vielfalt zum Wohlergehen zu bewerten. Ein vollständiges Verständnis der ökologischen Einschränkungen des menschlichen Wohlergehens erfordert die Berücksichtigung der Balance bei Diversitätseffekten, von gegensätzlichen Wahrnehmungen des Wohlergehens und von Ökosystemdysfunktionen. Wir fordern auch geeignete langfristige sozio‐ökologische Forschungsplattformen, um relevante Daten über das Funktionieren von Ökosystemen in Bezug auf das menschliche Wohlergehen in Raum und Zeit zu sammeln. Abstraktné Množstvo dôkazov poukazuje na pozitívny vplyv diverzity na fungovanie ekosystémov a ich úlohy v prírodnej a poľnohospodárskej krajine. Menej zrejmé a dokonca otázne sú ale účinky takejto diverzity na blahobyt ľudí. Tento stav čiastočne vyplýva z metodických ťažkostí pri posudzovaní týchto účinkov a nepresných koncepčných rámcov. V tejto práci navrhujeme koncepčný rámec, ktorý spája rôzne aspekty diverzity s fungovaním ekosystémov, jej úlohou, negatívnymi účinkami a blahobytom. Preskúmame súčasné prístupy k štúdiu vzťahov medzi diverzitou a blahobytom a identifikujeme nedostatky a zásadné prekážky, ktoré vyplývajú najmä z príliš nepresných teoretických východísk. V práci rozoberáme päť základných metodologických prístupov k spojeniu diverzity a blahobytu a to: maticové modely, nepriamu inferenciu, rozdelenie podľa ceny, modelovanie štrukturálnych rovníc a inferenciu podľa prostredia. Žiadame o presnejšiu terminológiu s ohľadom na rôzne aspekty fungovania, multifunkčnosti a blahobytu a zdôrazňujeme potrebu vyhodnotiť každý krok na jednotlivých cestách od diverzity k ľudskému blahobytu. Úplné pochopenie ekologických obmedzení ľudského blahobytu si vyžaduje, aby sa zohľadňovali kompromisy v účinkoch diverzity, kontrastného vnímania blahobytu a negatívnych účinkov ekosystémových služieb. Tiež žiadame o vytvorenie vhodných dlhodobých sociálno‐ekologických výskumných platforiem, ktoré by zhromažďovali relevantné údaje o fungovaní ekosystémov a o ľudskom blahobyte v priestore a čase. Abstrakt Wiele dowodów wskazuje na pozytywny wpływ różnorodności na funkcjonowanie ekosystemów i ich usługi w krajobrazach naturalnych i rolniczych. Mniej oczywiste, a nawet kwestionowane są skutki takiej różnorodności dla dobrostanu człowieka. Ten stan rzeczy wynika częściowo z trudności metodologicznych w ocenie tych skutków oraz nieprecyzyjnych ram koncepcyjnych. W tym miejscu proponujemy ramy koncepcyjne, które łączą różne aspekty różnorodności z funkcjonowaniem ekosystemu, usługami i nie‐zasługami ekosystemu oraz dobrostanem. Dokonujemy przeglądu obecnych podejść do badania relacji różnorodność ‐ dobrostan i identyfikujemy braki i zasadnicze przeszkody, wynikające głównie ze zbyt nieprecyzyjnych założeń teoretycznych. Omawiamy pięć podstawowych podejść metodologicznych do powiązania różnorodności z dobrostanem: modele macierzowe, wnioskowanie pośrednie, podział Price'a, modelowanie równań strukturalnych i wnioskowanie środowiskowe. Wzywamy do wprowadzenia bardziej rygorystycznej terminologii w odniesieniu do różnych aspektów funkcjonowania, wielofunkcyjności i dobrostanu oraz podkreślamy potrzebę oceny każdego kroku na różnych ścieżkach od różnorodności do dobrostanu. Pełne zrozumienie ekologicznych ograniczeń dobrostanu człowieka wymaga uwzględnienia kompromisów w zakresie skutków różnorodności, kontrastowego postrzegania dobrostanu oraz usług ekosystemów. Wzywamy również do stworzenia odpowiednich długoterminowych platform badawczych o charakterze społeczno‐ekologicznym w celu zebrania odpowiednich danych na temat funkcjonowania ekosystemów i dobrostanu w przestrzeni i czasie. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The importance of plant richness to enhance the presence, biodiversity and efficiency of natural enemies in agricultural systems has largely been studied and demonstrated these last decades. Planting and preserving non-crop plants or manipulating crop richness in fields are practices that have proven their efficiency. However, the impact of crop-richness continuity in space and time on pests and natural enemies at a landscape scale remains poorly studied. In a two-year study, we assessed the effect of crop richness (single crop vs. multiple crops) on pest and natural enemy abundance and spillover in a field experiment in north-east China. Overall, we found crop diversity had a limited impact on pest and natural enemy abundance at the spatial scale tested (0.025 vs. 0.2 ha). The total pest and natural enemy abundances were not different between single-crop and multi-crop plots in either year, and the community composition at the functional group level was mostly determined by the crop but not crop diversity. However, we found that crop diversity influenced the numeric response of ladybirds to aphids in wheat; their negative response (higher abundance where aphid abundance was lower, suggesting predation) was attenuated in multi-crop plots (no correlation of aphid and ladybird abundance, suggesting the use of alternative resources). This pattern was not found in maize. Finally, crop succession enhanced the spillover of ladybirds from wheat and maize to cotton plots but with limited benefits for aphid control. Because of these limited impacts, we hypothesized that crop diversity may benefit natural enemy populations and enhance pest control at larger spatial scales; while we found similar abundances of ladybirds between our small (0.025–0.2 ha) plots and in large (2 ha) close-by cotton fields, aphid abundances were more than ten times higher in large cotton fields. Our study highlights the need to accurately estimate the spatial scale at which crop biodiversity may benefit pest control, in relation to the ecology of the target pest and natural enemies.

Aim Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are a highly diverse group of soil‐associated organisms with varied biological functions, diet preferences and mobility. Their diversity has made them a popular focus in urbanisation research. However, studies on urbanisation's impact on Carabid species richness and abundance have yielded inconsistent results, showing negative, positive, neutral and even non‐linear effects. This study aimed to synthesise the existing literature to identify potential non‐linear effects of rural‐to‐urban gradients while accounting for the influence of climatic confounding factors. Location Global. Methods We conducted hierarchical meta‐analyses to evaluate non‐linear urbanisation effects on Carabid species richness and abundance. additionally, we examined the moderating roles of climate variables (annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality) and the relative urban heat island (UHI) effect. From 25 relevant studies, we extracted 43 effect sizes for species richness and 46 for assemblage‐level abundance. Results Our analysis revealed a significant non‐linear relationship between urbanisation and carabid abundance, characterised by an increase from rural to suburban areas, followed by a decline towards city centres. Cities with high precipitation seasonality and elevated relative UHI were associated with a suburban peak in both abundance and species richness, likely due to suburban areas mitigating extreme weather, such as harsh winters and heatwaves. Conversely, in climates with low precipitation seasonality and UHI, suburban areas showed a decline, as these conditions do not provide the mitigating benefits, yet the disadvantages of urbanisation remain. Main Conclusions Our findings highlight the crucial role of climate as a confounding factor in the non‐linear effects of urbanisation, underscoring the importance of integrating these variables into future research. Moreover, the results suggest that suburban environments in regions with high climatic seasonality and elevated UHI may hold conservation potential, supporting higher carabid abundance and species richness compared to urban cores or rural regions.

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies.

Our results suggest that bottom‐up processes related to habitat heterogeneity drive grape moth occurrence much more than top‐down processes. These results have important implications for the ecological intensification of vineyard landscapes. We found that maintaining full grass cover within vineyards reduced grape moth density to a level below common intervention thresholds. Landscape heterogeneity in the close vicinity of vineyards contributed to improved biological pest control by birds, but depended on local vegetation management. Moreover, opposing effects of landscape management on biological pest control services over time revealed that strategies based only on manipulating landscape heterogeneity might not be the optimal option to limit grape moth density in vineyards.