Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain

Studies conducted in the USA and Europe have shown that diverse landscapes in general support greater natural enemy abundance. No quantitative evidence on the relationship between land use diversity and natural enemies has been reported from developing countries, where fields and farms are much smal...

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Autores principales: Ke Zhou, Jikun Huang, Xiangzheng Deng, Werf, A.W. van der, Zhang, Wei, Yanhui Lu, Kongming Wu, Feng Wu
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68415
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author Ke Zhou
Jikun Huang
Xiangzheng Deng
Werf, A.W. van der
Zhang, Wei
Yanhui Lu
Kongming Wu
Feng Wu
author_browse Feng Wu
Jikun Huang
Ke Zhou
Kongming Wu
Werf, A.W. van der
Xiangzheng Deng
Yanhui Lu
Zhang, Wei
author_facet Ke Zhou
Jikun Huang
Xiangzheng Deng
Werf, A.W. van der
Zhang, Wei
Yanhui Lu
Kongming Wu
Feng Wu
author_sort Ke Zhou
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Studies conducted in the USA and Europe have shown that diverse landscapes in general support greater natural enemy abundance. No quantitative evidence on the relationship between land use diversity and natural enemies has been reported from developing countries, where fields and farms are much smaller than in modernized agriculture in the west, and where insecticide use is often high and indiscriminate. This paper examines the effects of land use and farmers’ insecticide application on natural enemies of aphids in cotton production, based on a unique dataset that links household and cotton field surveys to a detailed assessment of land uses in the landscapes surrounding the cotton fields in the North China Plain (NCP), a major grain and cotton production region in China. Our results show that, in the NCP where farms are small and landscape is dominated by a few crops, Shannon or Simpson land use diversity index is not a good indicator for explaining the relationship between land use and densities of aphid natural enemies. Instead, the types and proportions of cropland habitat mattered. Landscapes with more maize and grassland have higher ladybeetle populations in cotton fields. Farmers’ pest management practices such as the amount and timing of insecticide use significantly affect ladybeetle densities. These results imply that there is a need to recognize the potential positive role of cropland use in pest management and call for more judicious insecticide use strategies by smallholder farmers in the North China Plain.
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spelling CGSpace684152025-05-01T21:01:55Z Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain Ke Zhou Jikun Huang Xiangzheng Deng Werf, A.W. van der Zhang, Wei Yanhui Lu Kongming Wu Feng Wu insecticide use cotton natural enemies insecticides landscape ladybeetle ecosystem services Studies conducted in the USA and Europe have shown that diverse landscapes in general support greater natural enemy abundance. No quantitative evidence on the relationship between land use diversity and natural enemies has been reported from developing countries, where fields and farms are much smaller than in modernized agriculture in the west, and where insecticide use is often high and indiscriminate. This paper examines the effects of land use and farmers’ insecticide application on natural enemies of aphids in cotton production, based on a unique dataset that links household and cotton field surveys to a detailed assessment of land uses in the landscapes surrounding the cotton fields in the North China Plain (NCP), a major grain and cotton production region in China. Our results show that, in the NCP where farms are small and landscape is dominated by a few crops, Shannon or Simpson land use diversity index is not a good indicator for explaining the relationship between land use and densities of aphid natural enemies. Instead, the types and proportions of cropland habitat mattered. Landscapes with more maize and grassland have higher ladybeetle populations in cotton fields. Farmers’ pest management practices such as the amount and timing of insecticide use significantly affect ladybeetle densities. These results imply that there is a need to recognize the potential positive role of cropland use in pest management and call for more judicious insecticide use strategies by smallholder farmers in the North China Plain. 2014-01 2015-10-02T07:42:17Z 2015-10-02T07:42:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68415 en Limited Access Elsevier Ke Zhou, Jikun Huang, Xiangzheng Deng, Werf, W. van der, Wei Zhang, Yanhui Lu, Kongming Wu and Feng Wu. 2014. Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 183:176-184.
spellingShingle insecticide use
cotton
natural enemies
insecticides
landscape
ladybeetle
ecosystem services
Ke Zhou
Jikun Huang
Xiangzheng Deng
Werf, A.W. van der
Zhang, Wei
Yanhui Lu
Kongming Wu
Feng Wu
Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title_full Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title_fullStr Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title_full_unstemmed Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title_short Effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton: First evidence from smallholder agriculture in the North China Plain
title_sort effects of land use and insecticides on natural enemies of aphids in cotton first evidence from smallholder agriculture in the north china plain
topic insecticide use
cotton
natural enemies
insecticides
landscape
ladybeetle
ecosystem services
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/68415
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