Modelling the spread of tree pests and pathogens in urban forests

Understanding the potential dynamics of tree pests and pathogens is a vital component for creating resilient urban treescapes. Epidemiologically relevant features include differences in environmental stress and tree management between street and garden trees, and variation in the potential for human-mediated spread due to intensity of human activity, traffic flow and buildings. We extend a standard spatially explicit raster-based model for pest and pathogen spread by dividing the urban tree population into roadside trees and park/garden trees. We also distinguish between naturally-driven radial spread of pests and pathogens and human-mediated linear spread along roads. The model behaviour is explored using landscape data for tree locations in an exemplar UK town. Two main sources of landscape data were available: commercially collated aerial data, which have high coverage but no information on species; and, an urban tree inventory, with low, non-random, coverage but with some species data. The data were insufficient to impute a species-specific host landscape accurately; however, by combining the two data sources, and applying either random or Matérn cluster point process driven selection of a subset of all trees, we create two sets of potential host landscapes. We find that combining the two mechanisms of dispersal has a non-additive effect, with the enhanced linear dispersal enabling new foci of infection to be established more rapidly than with radial dispersal alone; and clustering of trees by species slows down the expansion of epidemics when compared with random distribution of tree species within known host locations.     

Effects of field and landscape variables on crop colonization and biological control of the cabbage root fly Delia radicum

Agriculture intensification has deeply modified agroecosystems from field to landscape scales. To achieve successful pest control using natural enemies, understanding species interactions over all scales remains a challenge. Using the cabbage root fly as a model, we studied whether field and landscape characteristics influenced colonization and infestation of broccoli fields by the pest and its control by natural enemies. We also determined whether species of different trophic level or host specialization would respond to environmental characteristics at the same spatial extent. During a multiple-species and multiple-spatial extent study in northwestern France, we recorded pest colonization and infestation in 68 fields, collected associated natural enemies and assessed crop damages. In each field, we considered management practices and characterized the surrounding landscape in 50–500 m-wide buffers. Our main findings are that Delia radicum and its main natural enemies respond to both field and landscape characteristics. Semi-natural areas supported both crop colonization by pests and natural enemy action. The pest and its enemies differed in their responses to field or landscape variables. Landscape elements such as field banks favored the movement of the pest while impeding the movement of some natural enemies. Pest pressure did not increase with the neighboring density of Brassica crops. The presence of natural enemies did not reduce crop damage but reduced pest emerging rates. Finally, specialist parasitoids responded to the landscape at larger spatial extents than generalists. These results outline the complexity of improving pest control through landscape management.     

Modeling scale-dependent landscape pattern,dispersal, and connectivity from the perspective of the organism

Understanding the impacts of habitat fragmentation on dispersal is an important issue in landscape and conservation ecology. Here I examine the effects of fine- to broad-scale patterns in landscape structure on dispersal success of organisms with differing life-history traits. An individual-based model was used to simulate dispersal of amphibian-like species whose movements were driven by land cover and moisture conditions. To systematically control spatial pattern, a landscape model was created by merging simulated land cover maps with synthetic topographic surfaces. Landscapes varied in topographic roughness and spatial contagion in agriculture and urban land cover. Simulations included three different species types that varied in their maximum potential dispersal distances by 1-, 2-, or 4-fold. Two sets of simulations addressed effects of varying aspects of landscape structure on dispersal success. In the first set of simulations, which incorporated variable distances between breeding patches, dispersal success was lowest for all species types when anthropogenic cover was patchily distributed. In the second set, with interpatch distances held constant as landscape composition varied, dispersal success decreased as anthropogenic cover became spatially contagious. Both sets revealed strong main effects of species characteristics, interpatch distances and landscape composition on dispersal success; furthermore, scale-dependent patterns in land cover and moisture gradients had a stronger effect on longer- than shorter-ranging species types. Taken together, these simulations suggest that heuristic conservation strategies could potentially be developed based on important but limited life history information.     

Landscape Position, Local Environmental Factors, and the Structure of Molluscan Assemblages of Lakes

Biotic communities are structured by both regional processes (e.g., dispersal) and local environmental conditions (e.g., stress). We examined the relative importance of landscape position (position within the hydrologic flow system and distance from other lakes) and local environmental factors in determining the assemblage structure of lake-dwelling snails and fingernail clams in a boreal landscape. Both landscape position and local environmental factors were highly influential in structuring the molluscan assemblages. In canonical correspondence analysis, 53.6% of snail and 48.2% of fingernail clam assemblage composition were accounted for by both sets of variables. The pure effects of landscape position were higher than those of environmental variables, and a considerable amount of variability was shared by the two sets of variables. In regression analysis, 95.5% of snail and 62.2% of fingernail clam species richness was accounted for by the explanatory variable groups, with most of the variability being related to shared effects, followed by landscape position. The effects of landscape position on species composition suggest that passive dispersal increases the similarity of molluscan assemblages in adjacent lakes. This process does not lead to an overall homogenisation of assemblage composition across the landscape, however, because local conditions set a strong environmental filter, excluding species that arrive at an unsuitable lake. These environmental filters may reflect either extinction probability (area, productivity) or species niche differences (calcium levels, abiotic stress). Landscape position may also be important in maintaining the species richness of lake-dwelling molluscan assemblages. By providing potential colonists, nearby source lakes are likely to be important in countering local extinctions. Our test of the relative importance of landscape position and local drivers of assemblage structure was partly confounded by their co-variation. Nevertheless, studying the relationship between landscape position and local variables is useful because it can tell us about the importance of local and regional processes in shaping lake communities.     

Can landscape indices predict ecological processes consistently?

The ecological interpretation of landscape patterns is one of the major objectives in landscape ecology. Both landscape patterns and ecological processes need to be quantified before statistical relationships between these variables can be examined. Landscape indices provide quantitative information about landscape pattern. Response variables or process rates quantify the outcome of ecological processes (e.g., dispersal success for landscape connectivity or Morisita's index for the spatial distribution of individuals). While the principal potential of this approach has been demonstrated in several studies, the robustness of the statistical relationships against variations in landscape structure or against variations of the ecological process itself has never been explicitly investigated. This paper investigates the consistency of correlations between a set of landscape indices (calculated with Fragstats) and three response variables from a simulated dispersal process across heterogeneous landscapes (cell immigration, dispersal success and search time) against variation in three experimental treatments (control variables): habitat amount, habitat fragmentation and dispersal behavior. I found strong correlations between some landscape indices and all three response variables. However, 68% of the statistical relationships were highly inconsistent and sometimes ambiguous for different landscape structures and for differences in dispersal behavior. Correlations between one landscape index and one response variable could range from highly positive to highly negative when derived from different spatial patterns. I furthermore compared correlation coefficients obtained from artificially generated (neutral) landscape models with those obtained from Landsat TM images. Both landscape representations produced equally strong and weak statistical relationships between landscape indices and response variables. This result supports the use of neutral landscape models in theoretical analyses of pattern-process relationships.     

Plants,small mammals,and the hierarchical landscape classifications of Patagonia

Assemblages of plants were studied at 14 sites in northern Patagonia corresponding to localities at which we (Monjeau et al. 1997) earlier studied the relationship between small mammal assemblages and landscape classifications. This allowed us to test predictions that both plants and small mammals correspond to the more inclusive hierarchical landscape divisions but that plants track better than small mammals the less inclusive divisions. Species presence or absence of plants at each locality was used in a series of multivariate analyses and compared by correlation analysis with those generated from small mammal species data. Assemblages of both plants and small mammals corresponded to the upper divisions, which are based on climatic and geomorphological features, but small mammal assemblages did not correspond to the lower divisions of the landscape classifications. Three factors are considered as explanations for the observed differences between plants and small mammals: a) small mammal habitat is determined more by plant growth form than by plant species; b) trophic level differences between the two groups; and c) species pool size affects the resolution of microhabitat correspondence. Our data indicate that both plant assemblages and small mammal assemblages respond to climatic and geomorphological features, which is in contrast to the paradigm that mammal assemblages simply follow plant assemblages. We also attempted to reconcile classification systems in Patagonia by proposing a nomenclatural system based on a hierarchical classification. In the system proposed, ecoregion is the lowest division small mammal assemblages can recognize in Patagonia. Finally, we conclude that the hierarchical nature of landscapes based on a holistic view of environments reflects real entities that are not just the perceptions of landscape ecologists.     

Effects of landscape structure on avian-mediated insect pest control services: a review

Context

Despite increasing evidence that landscape composition and configuration strongly influence the community structure of potential pest-regulators, landscape structure has seldom been explicitly linked with the rate and magnitude of pest-control services.

Objectives and methods

We conducted a systematic literature review evaluating 158 relevant studies to: (1) characterize our existing understanding of the empirical relationships between landscape structure and avian-mediated insect pest control services in agricultural systems, (2) identify gaps in our current understanding, and (3) develop a conceptual model of landscape structural influences on avian-mediated pest control.

Results and discussion

We found on-farm pest suppression by birds was often higher in landscapes with higher native habitat cover, higher compositional heterogeneity, and in agricultural patches in closer proximity to native habitats. We identified more than 200 bird species that provide pest control services across both temperate and tropical regions. While most avian predators are habitat-generalist species, a substantial fraction of pest control services in tropical regions was mediated by habitat-dependent species, suggesting a link between conservation management and maintenance of pest control services. We identified a three-part research agenda for future investigations of the relationships between landscape structure and avian-mediated pest control, focusing on an improved understanding of mechanisms related to: (1) predator–prey interactions and landscape modulation of trophic relationships, (2) bird dispersal ability and landscape connectivity, and (3) cross-habitat spillover of habitat-dependent avian predators.

Implications

These findings can be applied to efforts to manage and design landscapes capable of supporting both biodiversity and ecosystem services.

     

Designing agricultural landscapes for natural pest control: a transdisciplinary approach in the Hoeksche Waard (The Netherlands)

The green–blue network of semi-natural non-crop landscape elements in agricultural landscapes has the potential to enhance natural pest control by providing various resources for the survival of beneficial insects that suppress crop pests. A study was done in the Hoeksche Waard to explore how generic scientific knowledge about the relationship between the spatial structure of the green–blue network and enhancement of natural pest control can be applied by stakeholders. The Hoeksche Waard is an agricultural area in the Netherlands, characterized by arable fields and an extensive network of dikes, creeks, ditches and field margins. Together with stakeholders from the area the research team developed spatial norms and design rules for the design of a green–blue network that supports natural pest control. The stakeholders represented different interests in the area: farmers, nature and landscape conservationists, water managers, and local and regional politicians. Knowledge about the spatial relationship among beneficial insects, pests and landscape structure is incomplete. We conclude that to apply scientific knowledge about natural pest control and the role of green–blue networks to stakeholders so that they can apply it in landscape change, knowledge transfer has to be transparent, area specific, understandable, practical and incorporate local knowledge.     

Effect of matrix habitat on the spread of flea beetle introductions for biological control of leafy spurge

Matrix habitats are known to influence the movement patterns of a variety of species but it is less well known whether these effects have strong implications for spatial population dynamics, including the spread of biological introductions. Using a spatially explicit simulation model parameterized with empirical data, we examine how grass and shrub matrix habitats, each offering different resistance to dispersal, influence the spread and impact of a biocontrol agent, Aphthona lacertosa, on the invasive weed, leafy spurge. Model predictions indicate that differential responses to matrix habitat have little effect on the agent’s spread over the study landscape and this is supported by statistical models fit to observed A. lacertosa incidence on the same landscape. Subsequent experimentation with the simulation model suggested that A. lacertosa colonization rates were largely unaffected by increases in amount of the more restrictive shrub matrix. However, simulations of an hypothetical species with greater overall dispersal ability but reduced dispersal rate through shrub matrix showed that colonization rates were noticeably reduced when the percentage of shrub matrix on the landscape approached 50%. Combined these results suggest that some tailoring of release strategies may be required to accommodate the unique dispersal capabilities of different biocontrol agents on particular release landscapes, but for A. lacertosa there appears to be little effect of matrix habitat structure on rates of spread.     

Models based on individual level movement predict spatial patterns of genetic relatedness for two Australian forest birds

Fine-scale landscape change can alter dispersal patterns of animals, thus influencing connectivity or gene flow within a population. Furthermore, dispersal patterns of different species may be influenced by the landscape in varying ways. Our research first aimed to examine whether the spatial genetic structure within populations of closely related bird species differs in response to the same landscape. Second, we examined whether individual-level movement characteristics are a mechanistic driver of these differences. We generated a priori predictions of how landscape features will influence dispersal (particularly the response of individuals to habitat boundaries both natural and human-induced) based on a movement model developed by Fahrig (Funct Ecol 21:1003–1015, 2007). This model allowed us to predict genetic relatedness patterns in populations of two passerine bird species with different life-history traits from Queensland, Australia (yellow-throated scrubwren Sericornis citreogularis, a habitat specialist; white-browed scrubwren Sericornis frontalis, a habitat generalist). We quantified our predictions using cost-distance modelling and compared these to observed pairwise genetic distances (a _r ) between individuals as calculated from microsatellite markers. Mantel tests showed that our a priori models correlated with genetic distance. Euclidean distance was most closely correlated to genetic distance for the generalist species (r = 0.093, P = 0.002), and landscape models that included the avoidance of unsuitable habitat were best for the specialist species (r = 0.107, P = 0.001). Our study showed that predictable movement characteristics may be the mechanism driving differences in genetic relatedness patterns within populations of different bird species.     

Migration rates of grassland plants along corridors in fragmented landscapes assessed with a cellular automation model

This study investigated the efficacy of linear landscape elements in fragmented landscapes as corridors for perennial grassland species with short-range seed dispersal. Corridors are assumed to be essential for the persistence of metapopulations in fragmented landscapes, but it is unclear to what extent linear landscape elements such as ditch banks and road verges can function as corridors for those species. The principal factors that determine the rate of migration through corridors include the width and habitat quality of patches within a corridor (expressed as the population growth rate λ) and the dispersal capacity of plants (expressed as the slope α of the relationship between seed number and log-distance). A cellular automation model was used to simulate the effects of the principal factors on the rate of migration. Simulations with different levels of the principal factors showed highly significant and positive main effects of dispersal capacity, habitat quality and width of corridors on the migration rate. Significant interactions existed between dispersal capacity × width and dispersal capacity × habitat quality (p<0.0001), indicating that the effects of width and habitat quality depended on the dispersal capacity. In narrow corridors most of the dispersed seeds were deposited outside the corridor, which significantly reduced migration rates, especially for species with long-range dispersal (α=−0.4). In wide corridors (up to 20 m), seed losses were much smaller and migration rates approximated those of continuous habitats. The contribution of the few long-range seeds to the rate of migration was significant when habitat quality was high (population growth rates up to 2.5). However, in all simulations migration rates were very low,i.e.<5 m/yr. It is concluded that linear landscape elements are not effective corridors in fragmented landscapes for plants with short-range seed dispersal, because migration rates are low (<5 m/yr), landscape elements vary in the percentage of high quality patches, and refugia and suitable habitat patches are frequently several kilometres apart, making a cohesive infrastructure of corridors for plants elusive. It is argued that the best way to conserve endangered plant species that encounter dispersal barriers is to harvest seeds from nearby source populations and introduce them as suitable habitats.     

A tool for testing integrated pest management strategies on a tritrophic system involving pollen beetle, its parasitoid and oilseed rape at the landscape scale

The intensification of agriculture has led to a loss of biodiversity and subsequently to a decrease in ecosystem services, including regulation of pests by natural enemies. Biological regulation of pests is a complex process affected by both landscape configuration and agricultural practices. Although modeling tools are needed to design innovative integrated pest management strategies that consider tritrophic interactions at the landscape scale, landscape models that consider agricultural practices as levers to enhance biological regulation are lacking. To begin filling this gap, we developed a grid-based lattice model called Mosaic-Pest that simulates the spatio-temporal dynamics of Meligethes aeneus, a major pest of oilseed rape, and its parasitoid, Tersilochus heterocerus through a landscape that changes through time according to agricultural practices. The following agricultural practices were assumed to influence the tritrophic system and were included in the model: crop allocation in time and space, ploughing, and trap crop planting. To test the effect of agricultural practices on biological regulation across landscape configurations, we used a complete factorial design with the variables described below and ran long-term simulations using Mosaic-Pest. The model showed that crop rotation and the use of trap crop greatly affected pollen beetle densities and parasitism rates while ploughing had only a small effect. The use of Mosaic-Pest as a tool to select the combination of agricultural practices that best limit the pest population is discussed.     

Interactions between plant life span, seed dispersal capacity and fecundity determine metapopulation viability in a dynamic landscape

Classical metapopulation models do not account for temporal changes in the suitability of habitat patches. In reality, however, the carrying capacity of most habitat types is not constant in time due to natural succession processes. In this study, we modeled plant metapopulation persistence in a successional landscape with disappearing and emerging habitat patches, based on a realistic dune slack landscape at the Belgian–French coast. We focused on the effects of the variation of different plant traits on metapopulation persistence in this changing landscape. Therefore, we used a stage based stochastic metapopulation model implemented in RAMAS/Metapop, simulating a large variation in plant traits but keeping landscape characteristics such as patch turnover rate and patch lifespan constant. The results confirm the conclusions of earlier modeling work that seed dispersal distance and seed emigration rate both have an important effect on metapopulation persistence. We also found that high population growth rate or high recruitment considerably decreased the extinction risk of the metapopulation. Additionally, a long plant life span had a strong positive effect on metapopulation persistence, irrespective of the plant's dispersal capacity and population growth rate. Plant species that invest in life span require less investment in offspring and dispersal capacity to avoid extinction, even in dynamic landscapes with deterministic changes in habitat quality. Moreover, metapopulations of long-lived plant species were found to be much less sensitive to high levels of environmental stochasticity than short-lived species.     

芦笋常见病虫害及其综合防治技术

针对芦笋各种常见病害的发病症状、发病原因以及常见虫害的危害特点,提出综合防治技术.     

Organic farming affects the biological control of hemipteran pests and yields in spring barley independent of landscape complexity

Context

Hemipteran pests cause significant yield losses in European cereal fields. It has been suggested that local management interventions to promote natural enemies are most successful in simple landscapes that are dominated by large arable fields.

Objectives

We study how farming category (conventional, new and old organic fields) and landscape complexity affect pests, natural enemies and biological control services in spring barley. We further analyse if yields are related to pest infestation or biological control services.

Methods

The amount of pasture and the length of field borders were used to define landscape complexity around barley fields in Southern Sweden. Arthropods were sampled with an insect suction sampler and predation and parasitism services were estimated by field observations and inspections of pest individuals.

Results

Pest infestation was affected by landscape complexity, with higher aphid, but lower leafhopper numbers in more complex landscapes. Aphid predation was higher under organic farming and affected by effects on predator abundance and community composition independent of landscape complexity. Auchenorrhyncha parasitism was neither significantly affected by landscape complexity nor by farming category. Higher aphid predation rates and lower aphid densities were characteristic for organically managed fields with higher barley yields.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that it is possible to increase both aphid biological control services and barley yield via local management effects on predator communities independent of landscape complexity. However, the success of such management practices is highly dependent on the pest and natural enemy taxa and the nature of the trophic interaction.

     

Contrasting the ability of data to make inferences regarding dispersal: case study of the Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

Dispersal is a critical biological process that contributes to the persistence of species in complex and dynamic landscapes. However, little is known about the ability of different types of data to reveal how species interact with landscape patterns during dispersal. Further, application of process-based, landscape-scale models able to capture the influence of land use and climate change are limited by this lack of dispersal knowledge. Here we highlight a method for building such models when dispersal parameters are unknown, but information on the mating system and survival are available. We applied a common statistical framework, rooted in information theory, to contrast the ability of abundance, movement, and genetic data to estimate dispersal parameters for endangered Red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW), using an individual-based, spatially-explicit population model. Dispersal was modeled as a multifaceted process in which foray distance, long-distance dispersal, competition for mates, and landscape permeability were treated as uncertain. We found that movement data are three-times more powerful than abundance data collected at the same spatial and temporal scales. However, habitat occupancy data collected over much a shorter time scale but at regional spatial scales were very effective for estimating dispersal. We also found that one-year of abundance data provided a similar reduction in uncertainty as genetic differences among breeding groups estimated using a 24-year pedigree. Substituting population genetic data for movement and abundance data often led to the same parameter values, but not always. Our study highlights important differences in the information content of data commonly collected in the field.     

Species invasions on islands: searching for general patterns and principles

Numerous islands worldwide are being increasingly invaded by exotic species. However, the effects of invading species on native floras remain underexplored, particularly whether island biogeography theory is applicable to native, exotic, and the newly assembled floras. Inter-group comparisons across different regions or island groups through a collection of individual studies have the potential of offering additional insights. Here, I comparatively analyze 10 datasets involving bird and plant invasions on nine island groups around the world and make detailed comparisons between two sets. I show that, although similarities exist, different taxonomic groups and different geographic settings exhibit drastically different invasion patterns on islands. Island biogeography theory still better explains native and overall (natives plus exotics) diversity patterns, such as the species-area-isolation relationships. In contrast, the corresponding patterns for exotic species are highly variable. The varying degrees of human intervention in species invasion relative to natural dispersal on different islands, along with differences between taxonomic groups, highlight the challenges of searching general patterns and applying island biogeography theories to island invasion and conservation.     

羊肚菌人工栽培出菇期虫害调查

对甘肃陇南地区羊肚菌人工栽培过程中出菇期有害发生情况进行调查的结果:明确生物种类计有2门、5纲、10目共17种,针对有害生物的优势种群提出农业措施、物理防治、化学防治等防治措施。     

Matrix configuration and patch isolation influences override the species–area relationship for urban butterfly communities

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of urban public parks in maintaining connectivity and butterfly assemblages. Using a regression framework, we first test the relative importance of park size and isolation in predicting abundance and species richness of butterfly assemblages across a set of 24 public parks within a large metropolitan area, Marseille (South-East France). Then, we focus on landscape features that affect diversity patterns of the recorded butterfly communities. In this second part, the urban landscape surrounding each park is described (within a 1 × 1 km window) according to two major components: vegetated areas (habitat patches) and impervious or built areas (matrix patches). Specifically, we aim to test whether the incorporation of this built component (matrix) in the landscape analysis provides new insights into the understanding of ecological connectivity in the urban environment. We found a significant effect of both matrix configuration (shape complexity of the built patches) and distance from regional species pool (park isolation) on diversity of butterflies that overrides park size in their contribution to variation in species richness. This result suggests that many previous studies of interactions between biodiversity and urban landscape have overlooked the influence of the built elements.     

Trait-dependent responses of flower-visiting insects to distance to semi-natural grasslands and landscape heterogeneity

Protecting semi-natural grasslands may through spill-over benefit species richness and abundance of flower-visiting insects in linear habitats, such as uncultivated field boundaries, in agricultural landscapes. However, whether local diversity increases both with decreasing distance from potential source habitats and increasing landscape heterogeneity is poorly known due to a general lack of studies replicated at the landscape scale. We analysed if local assemblages of bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies in linear uncultivated habitats increased with increasing distance to the nearest semi-natural grassland in 12 replicated landscapes along a gradient of landscape heterogeneity in Scania, Southern Sweden. Species richness and abundance of bumblebees and butterflies, but not hoverflies, decreased with increasing distance to semi-natural grasslands, but none of these groups were related to increasing landscape heterogeneity. Further analyses on trait-specific groups revealed significant decreases in the abundance of sedentary and grassland specialist butterflies with increasing distance to assumed source populations, whereas this was not the case concerning mobile species and grassland generalists. The abundance of all bumblebee trait groups decreased with increasing distance to semi-natural grasslands, but only some species (those nesting above ground, with long colony cycles and with small colony sizes) also increased with increasing landscape heterogeneity. We conclude that local species assemblages of flower-visiting insects in linear habitat elements were mainly affected by the occurrence of nearby semi-natural grasslands. In order to conserve diverse assemblages of flower-visiting insects, including the ecological services they provide, it is important to conserve semi-natural grasslands dispersed throughout agricultural landscapes.