TY - JOUR
T1 - Horticultural production systems influence ground beetle (Coleoptera
T2 - Carabidae) distribution and diversity in cucurbits
AU - Lewis, M. T.
AU - Fleischer, S. J.
AU - Roberts, D. C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Specialty Crop Research Initiative, U.S. Department of Agriculture, grant number 2012-51181-20295, under award number 2012-51181-20295, and the Black Endowed Graduate Fellowship (Pennsylvania State University), which supported one year of graduate study. M. Gardiner and C. Welty (Ohio State University) and R. Bessin (University of Kentucky) helped develop sampling protocols. J. Lilley and E. Sanchez (Penn State) assumed primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining plots. We also thank R. Troyer, J. Lilley, and B. Reed for help in pest scouting and collecting pitfall traps.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/6/30
Y1 - 2016/6/30
N2 - Commercial cucurbit production typically involves agriculturally intensive practices, with fields prepared using conventional tillage, plasticulture, and chemically based pest management. Conservation-based management options are limited. In this study, we consider two alternative strategies, strip tillage and the use of row covers. We compare their impact on the beneficial carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) community in melons and squash, following conventional or organic systems, over two years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that soil management system (strip tillage versus plasticulture) was the primary variable influencing carabid distribution; row cover was a less important factor. The response to soil management was species dependent. Some dominant species, such as Harpalus pensylvanicus DeGeer, demonstrated no preference for a particular soil treatment. For others, including the tiger beetle, Cicindela punctulata Olivier, and a slug predator, Chlaenius tricolor Dejean, activity-density was higher in strip-tillage production systems. Our analysis suggested that strip-tillage production systems support a richer, more diverse carabid community. These results demonstrate that even within intensive annual horticultural systems, production practices can play a critical role in shaping the beneficial arthropod community, potentially encouraging or limiting ecosystem services.
AB - Commercial cucurbit production typically involves agriculturally intensive practices, with fields prepared using conventional tillage, plasticulture, and chemically based pest management. Conservation-based management options are limited. In this study, we consider two alternative strategies, strip tillage and the use of row covers. We compare their impact on the beneficial carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) community in melons and squash, following conventional or organic systems, over two years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that soil management system (strip tillage versus plasticulture) was the primary variable influencing carabid distribution; row cover was a less important factor. The response to soil management was species dependent. Some dominant species, such as Harpalus pensylvanicus DeGeer, demonstrated no preference for a particular soil treatment. For others, including the tiger beetle, Cicindela punctulata Olivier, and a slug predator, Chlaenius tricolor Dejean, activity-density was higher in strip-tillage production systems. Our analysis suggested that strip-tillage production systems support a richer, more diverse carabid community. These results demonstrate that even within intensive annual horticultural systems, production practices can play a critical role in shaping the beneficial arthropod community, potentially encouraging or limiting ecosystem services.
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U2 - 10.1093/ee/nvw013
DO - 10.1093/ee/nvw013
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85007481124
VL - 45
SP - 559
EP - 569
JO - Environmental Entomology
JF - Environmental Entomology
SN - 0046-225X
IS - 3
ER -