Pest or beneficial insect? When it comes to insects and agriculture, livelihoods are at stake. Crop losses due to insect pests here, species extinction and loss of biodiversity there. It is true that pest control is part and parcel of agriculture. But the efficiency of pest control also affects the large group of beneficial insects. Can agriculture and biodiversity still function together?
„I always tell the farmers: If you want the beneficial insects to help you when things get tough, you have to help them at times when they would otherwise starve. They can't be there just because the pest is there now, they have to be there all the time. “
Prof. Bärbel Gerowitt, University of Rostock
Scientific evidence on the decline of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has been available for a long time. But it was not until a publication of data by the Krefeld Entomological Society in 2017 that awareness of the alarming situation arose in politics and society. Since then, science-based solutions have been sought to put a stop to insect mortality. Under the leadership of the Thünen Institute for Biodiversity, the nationwide Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes (MonViA) is being established on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, among others. So far, there have only been individual studies, from which, however, developments can only be read to a limited extent.
In addition, the researchers are establishing a nationwide monitoring of wild bees in agricultural landscapes. Pollinators such as bees and bumblebees are among the best-known and most important insects. After all, two-thirds of the world's crops - especially fruit and vegetables - are pollinated by such insects. They are an important factor for the quantity of the crop, but also for the quality of the products produced. But the diversity of insects in agricultural landscapes is considerably greater and each species plays an essential role in the fabric of nature. For every pest there is a beneficial insect: spiders and predatory insects keep pests in check, soil organisms ensure soil fertility. These groups in particular are highly dependent on the way landscape is designed and agriculture is practiced. Flower strips, agroforestry systems, hedges, orchards and grasslands are therefore not only nice to look at, but essential for the continuation of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.
In this episode, Rostock professor Bärbel Gerowitt, an expert in plant protection, among other things, and Professor Jens Dauber, head of the Thünen Institute for Biodiversity, talk about beneficial insects and pests and why these man-made categories are not always helpful. It is about habitats, landscape design and the ecosystem services of insects. And, of course, the question of why agricultural landscapes are not per se hostile spaces for insects and how they can be integrated into agricultural production.
Sources and further readings
- Andert S, de Mol F, Koning L, Gerowitt B (2022) Weed response in winter wheat fields on a gradient of glyphosate use in the recent past. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 333, 10797
- Muppele AC, Bruelheide H, Brühl C, Gerowitt B et al. (2021) Biodiversity in European agricultural landscapes: transformative societal changes needed. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 36(12), 1067-1070.
- Niggli U, Riedel J, Brühl C, Liess M, Schulz R, Altenburger R, Märländer B, Bokelmann W, Heß J, Reinecke A, Gerowitt B (2020) Pflanzenschutz und Biodiversität in Agrarökosystemen. Berichte über Landwirtschaft - Zeitschrift für Agrarpolitik und Landwirtschaft 98(1), 1-39 (in German)
- Schulz-Kesting K, Thiele J, Everwand G, Dauber J (2021) Neighbourhood effect of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) on density of vegetation-dwelling natural biocontrol agents in winter wheat. Biol Contr 160:104673
- Puliga GA, Thiele J, Ahnemann H, Dauber J (2021) Effects of temporal crop diversification of a cereal-based cropping system on generalist predators and their biocontrol potential. Front Agron 3:704979
- Sietz D, Klimek S, Dauber J (2022) Tailored pathways toward revived farmland biodiversity can inspire agroecological action and policy to transform agriculture. Commun Earth Environ 3, 211 (2022)
- Thünen topic Biodiversity
- Biodiversity projects
- European biodiversity promotion
- Optimising agricultural food production and biodiversity in European landscapes, Thünen Report 98
- National Monitoring of Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes
- Krefeld study on biomass loss
Professor Jens Dauber heads the Thünen Institute of Biodiversity and teaches Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes at the University of Braunschweig. His research focuses on sustainable agricultural systems and their ecosystem services. He advises, among others, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in the Scientific Advisory Council "Biodiversity and Genetic Resources".
Bärbel Gerowitt is Professor of Phytomedicine at the Institute of Land Use at the University of Rostock. She is an expert in natural plant protection concepts and agricultural biodiversity. The scientist's research focuses on field weeds in the interplay between protection and damage. Among other things, she was Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the "National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products".
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