Diversity patterns of plants and arthropods in soybean agro-ecosystems in the Grassland Biome of South Africa
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Abstract. Janse van Rensburg PD, Siebert SJ, Masehela T, Ellis S, Van den Berg J. 2020. Diversity patterns of plants and arthropods in soybean agroecosystems in the grassland biome of South Africa. Biodiversitas 21: 5559-5570. Soybean is widely cultivated in the grassland biome of South Africa (ca. 800 000 ha per annum). Yet the possible effects that large-scale cultivation of soybean has on biodiversity in adjacent habitat are not fully understood. This study aimed to describe the plant and arthropod species assemblages and diversity patterns within these soybean agroecosystems. Surveys were conducted inside soybean fields, field boundaries (transition zones between soybean fields and adjacent habitat), and adjacent pasture. An adapted D-vac was used to sample arthropods in the different zones, while plant surveys were conducted by means of fixed width (2 m) line transect. A total of 320 plant species (4910 specimens) and 373 arthropod morpho-species (9216 specimens) were recorded. Soybean fields had significantly lower plant and arthropod diversity than the adjacent habitats. Plant species diversity was similar in the field boundary and adjacent pasture. Significantly higher species richness and abundance of arthropods were found in the boundary than the pasture. These results show that the cultivation of soybean and the associated agricultural practices had no adverse effects on biodiversity patterns in the adjacent habitats. However, the boundary dominated by alien plant species did contain a significantly different plant species composition from the pasture. This difference was also mirrored by unique assemblages of arthropods. This suggests that disturbance resulting from soybean cultivation contributed to species losses and gains that maintained diversity in the field boundary but changed its plant and arthropod species composition. No effect was found in the pasture beyond the boundary (> 50 m). High diversity, but unique species assemblages of plants and arthropods in the boundary and pasture suggest that these habitats may have important conservation value in soybean agroecosystems by supporting ecosystem functions and services.
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References
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Felsot AS, Unsworth JB, Linders JBHJ, Roberts G, Rautman D, Harris C, Carazo E. 2011. Agrochemical spray drift; assessment and mitigation - a review. J Environ Sci Heal B 46:1–23.
Gaba S, Lescourret F, Boudsocq S, Enjalbert J, Hinsinger P, Journet E-P, Navas M-L, Wery J, Louarn G, Malézieux E, Pelzer E, Prudent M, Ozier-Lafontaine H. 2015. Multiple cropping systems as drivers for providing multiple ecosystem services: from concepts to design. Agron Sustain Dev 35: 607-623.
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Ghannem S, Touaylia S, Boumaiza M. 2018. Beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) as bioindicators of the assessment of environmental pollution. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 24: 456-464.
Griffiths GJK, Holland JM, Bailey A, Thomas MB. 2007. Efficacy and economics of shelter habitats for conservation biological control. Biol Control 45: 200-209.
Haddad NM, Crutsinger GM, Gross K, Haarstad J, Knops JMH, Tilman D. 2009. Plant species loss decreases arthropod diversity and shifts trophic structure. Ecol Lett 12: 1029–1039.
Hahn M, Schotthöfer A, Schmitz J, Franke LA, Brühl CA. 2015. The effects of agrochemicals on Lepidoptera, with a focus on moths, and their pollination service in field margin habitats. Agr Ecosyst Environ 207: 153-162.
Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD. 2001. PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4:1.
Hancock GR, Mueller RO. 2010. The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Routledge, New York.
Hansen AJ, Knight RL, Marzluff JM, Powell S, Brown K, Gude PH, Jones K. 2005. Effects of exurban development on biodiversity: patterns, mechanisms, and research needs. Ecol Appl 15: 1893–1905.
Holland J, Fahrig L. 2000. Effects of woody borders on insect density and diversity in crop fields: a landscape-scale analysis. Agr Ecosyst Environ 78: 1115–122.
ISAAA. 2018. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2018. ISAAA Brief No. 54. ISAAA, New York.
Isbell F, Adler PR, Eisenhauer N, Fornara D, Kimmel K, Kremen C, Letourneau DK, Liebman M, Polley WH, Quijas S., Scherer-Lorenzen M. 2017. Benefits of increasing plant diversity in sustainable agroecosystems. J Ecol 105: 871-879.
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Landis DA, Wratten SD, Gurr GM. 2000. Habitat management to conserve natural enemies of arthropod pests in agriculture. Annu Rev Entomol 45: 175–201.
Lundgren JG. 2009. Nutritional aspects of non-prey foods in the life histories of predacious Coccinellidae. Biol Control 51: 294-305.
Madeira F, Tscharntke T, Elek Z, Kormann UG, Pons X, Rösch V, Samu F, Scherber C, Batáry P, 2016. Spillover of arthropods from cropland to protected calcareous grassland – the neigbouring habitat matters. Agr Ecosyst Environ 235: 127-133.
Maestre FT, Castillo-Monroy AP, Bowker MA, Ochoa-Hueso R. 2012. Species richness effects on ecosystem multifunctionally depend on evenness, composition and spatial pattern. J Ecol 100: 317–330.
Marshall EJP. 1989. Distribution patterns of plants associated with arable field edges. J Appl Ecol 26: 247–257.
Marshall EJP, Moonen AC. 2002. Field margins in northern Europe: their functions and interactions with agriculture. Agr Ecosyst Environ 89: 5–21.
Marshall EJP. 2005. Field margins in northern Europe: integrating agricultural, environmental and biodiversity functions. In: Thomas AG (ed) Field boundary habitats: implications for weed, insect and disease management. Canadian Weed Science Society, Canada.
Menta C, Remelli S. 2020. Soil health and arthropods: from complex system to worthwhile investigation. Insects 11, 1 DOI 10.3390/insects11010054
Mucina L, Rutherford MC. 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Murphy TR, Gossett BJ. 1981. Influence of shading by soybean (Glycine max) on weed suppression. Weed Sci 29: 610–615.
Norris RF, Kogan M. 2000. Interactions between weeds, arthropod pests, and their natural enemies in managed ecosystems. Weed Sci 48: 94–158.
Oliver I, Beattie AJ. 1996. Designing a cost-effective invertebrate survey: a test of methods for rapid assessment of biodiversity. Ecol Appl 6: 594–607.
Pereira JL, Picanço MC, Pereira EJG, Silva AA, Jakelaitis A, Pereira RR, Zavier VM. 2010. Influence of crop management practices on bean foliage arthropods. Bull Entomol Res 100: 679-688.
Picker M, Griffiths C, Weaving A. 2019. Field guide to insects of South Africa. Struik Nature, Cape Town, South Africa.
Piessens K, Honnay O, Devlaeminck R, Hermy M. 2006. Biotic and abiotic edge effects in highly fragmented heathlands adjacent to cropland and forest. Agr Ecosyst Environ 114: 335–342.
Plaza EH, Navarette L, González-Andújar JL. 2015. Intensity of soil disturbances shapes response trait diversity of weed communities: the long-term effects of different tillage systems. Agr Ecosyst Environ 207: 101-108.
Pryke JS, Samways MJ. 2012. Conservation management of complex natural forest and plantation edge effects. Landsc Ecol 27: 73–85.
Puricelli E, Tuesca D. 2005. Weed density and diversity under glyphosate-resistant crop sequences. Crop Prot. 24: 533–542.
Randlkofer B, Obermaier E, Hilker M, Meiners T. 2010. Vegetation complexity – the influence of plant species diversity and plant structures on plant chemical complexity and arthropods. Basic Appl Ecol 11: 383–395.
Ratnadass A, Fernandes P, Avelino J, Habib R. 2011. Plant species diversity for sustainable management of crop pests and diseases in agroecosystems: a review. Agron Sustain Dev 32: 273-303.
Rose R, Dively GP. 2007. Effects of insecticide-treated and lepidopteran-active Bt transgenic sweet corn on the abundance and diversity of arthropods. Environ Entomol 36: 1254-1268.
Santín-Montanyá MI, Martín-Lammerding D, Walter I, Zambrana E, Tenorio JL. 2013. Effects of tillage, crop systems and fertilization on weed abundance and diversity in a 4-year dryland winter wheat. Eur J Agron 48: 43–49.
Schaffers AP, Raemakers IP, Sykora KV, Ter Braak CJF. 2008. Arthropod assemblages are best predicted by plant species composition. Ecology 89: 782–794.
Schmitz J, Hahn M, Brühl CA. 2014. Agrochemicals in field margins – an experimental field study to assess the impacts of pesticides and fertilizers on a natural plant community. Agr Ecosyst Environ 193: 60–69.
Scholtz CH, Holm E. 2012. Insects of Southern Africa. Protea Boekhuis, Pretoria, South Africa.
Shelton MD, Edwards CR. 1983. Effects of weeds on the diversity and abundance of insects in soybean. Environ Entomol 12: 296-298.
Siemann E, Tilman D, Haarstad J, Ritchie M. 1998. Experimental tests of the dependence of arthropod diversity on plant diversity. Am Nat 152: 738–750.
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Snyman HA, Ingram LJ, Kirkman KP. 2013. Themeda triandra: a keystone grass species. Afr J Range Forage Sci. 30: 99–125.
Tscharntke T, Rand TA, Bianchi FJJA. 2005. The landscape context of trophic interactions: insect spillover across the crop-noncrop interface. Ann Zool Fenn 42: 421–432.
Van Oudtshoorn F. 2012. Guide to grasses of Southern Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa.
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Alves GS, Kruger GR, Da Cunha JPAR, Vieira BC, Henry RS, Obradovic A, Grujic M. 2017. Spray drift from dicamba and glyphosate applications in a wind tunnel. Weed Technol 31: 387–395.
Balzan MV, Moonen AC. 2014. Field margin vegetation enhances biological control and crop damage suppression from multiple pests in organic tomato fields. Entomol Exp Appl. 150: 45-65.
Bommarco R, Kleijn D, Potts SG. 2013. Ecological intensification: harnessing ecosystem services for food security. Trends Ecol. Evol. 28: 230-238.
Borin M, Passoni M, Thiene M, Tempesta, T. 2010. Multiple functions of buffer strips in farming areas. Eur J Agron 32: 103–111.
Botha M, Siebert SJ, Van den Berg J, Maliba BG, Ellis SM. 2015. Plant and arthropod diversity patterns of maize-agroecosystems in two grassy biomes of South Africa. Biodivers Conserv 24: 1797–1824.
Botha M, Siebert SJ, Van den Berg J. 2016. Do arthropod assemblages fit the grassland and savanna biomes of South Africa. S. Afr. J. Sci, 112, 9/10 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/20150424
Botha M, Siebert SJ & Van den Berg J. 2017. Grass abundance maintains positive plant-arthropod diversity relationships in maize fields and margins of South Africa. Agric For Entomol 19: 154–162.
Boutin C, Jobin B. 1998. Intensity of agricultural practices and effects on adjacent habitats. Ecol Appl 8: 544–557.
Bromilow C. 2010. Problem plants and alien weeds of Southern Africa. Briza Publishers, Pretoria, South Africa.
Carner GR, Shepard M, Turnipseed SG. 1974. Seasonal abundance of insect pests of soybean. J Econ Entomol 67: 487-493.
Clarke KR, Gorley RN. 2006. Primer v6: User manual/tutorial. PRIMER-E, Plymouth.
Cooper AB, Smith CM, Smith MJ. 1995. Effects of riparian set-aside on soil characteristics in an agricultural landscape: implication for nutrient transport and retention. Agr Ecosyst Environ 55: 61–67.
DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). 2018. Trends in the Agricultural Sector 2017. DAFF, Pretoria, South Africa.
DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). 2019. Statistics and economic publications and reports – final area planted and crop production figures of commercial maize, sunflower seed, soybeans, groundnut and sorghum for 2018. https://www.daff.gov.za/daffweb3/Home/Crop-Estimates Date of access: 27 January 2020.
Daly AJ, Baetens JM, De Baets B. 2015. The impact of initial evenness on biodiversity maintenance for a four-species in silico bacterial community. J Theor Biol 387: 189-205.
Datta A, Ullah H, Tursun N, Pornprom T, Knezevic SZ, Singh C. 2017. Managing weeds using crop competition in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Crop Pro 95: 60-68.
Deutsch L, Dyball R, Steffen W. 2013. Feeding Cities: Food Security and Ecosystem Support in an Urbanizing World. In: Elmqvist T, Fragkias M, Goodness J, Güneralp B (eds) Urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystem services: challenges and opportunities. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Dietrick E, Schlinger E, Garber M. 1960. Vacuum cleaner principle applied in sampling insect populations in alfalfa fields by new machine method. Calif Agr 14: 9–11.
Dippenaar-Schoeman A. 2014. Field guide to the spiders of South Africa. LAPA Publishers, Pretoria, South Africa.
Dlamini TS, Tshabalala P, Mutengwa T. 2014. Soybean production in South Africa. OCL 21, 2 DOI: 10.1051/ocl/2013047.
Downing AL, Leibold MA. 2002. Ecosystem consequences of species richness and composition in pond food webs. Nature 416: 837–841.
Dufrêne M, Legendre P. 1997. Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67: 345–366.
Du Plessis H. 2015. Grain legumes: cowpea, dry beans, pigeon pea and soybean. In: Prinsloo GL, Uys VM (eds) Insects of cultivated plants and natural pastures in southern Africa. Entomological Society of Southern Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Duru M, Therond O, Martin G, Martin-Clouarie R, Magne MA, Justes E, Journet EP, Aubertot JN, Savary S, Bergez JE, Sarthou JP. 2015. How to implement biodiversity-based agriculture to enhance ecosystem services: a review. Agron Sustain Dev 35: 1259–1281.
Ellis S, Steyn H. 2003. Practical significance (effect sizes) versus or in combination with statistical significance (p-values): a research note. J S Afr Ins Man Sci 12: 51–53.
Fahrig L. 2003. Effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34: 487–515.
Faucon M-P, Houben D, Lambers H. 2017. Plant functional traits: soil and ecosystem services. Trends Plant Sci 22: 385-394.
Feber RE, Smith H, MacDonald DW. 1996. The effects on butterfly abundance of the management of uncropped edges of arable fields. J Appl Ecol 33: 1191–1205.
Felsot AS, Unsworth JB, Linders JBHJ, Roberts G, Rautman D, Harris C, Carazo E. 2011. Agrochemical spray drift; assessment and mitigation - a review. J Environ Sci Heal B 46:1–23.
Gaba S, Lescourret F, Boudsocq S, Enjalbert J, Hinsinger P, Journet E-P, Navas M-L, Wery J, Louarn G, Malézieux E, Pelzer E, Prudent M, Ozier-Lafontaine H. 2015. Multiple cropping systems as drivers for providing multiple ecosystem services: from concepts to design. Agron Sustain Dev 35: 607-623.
Gao P, Zhang Z, Shen J, Mao Y, Wei S, Wei J, Zuo R, Li R, Song X, Qiang S. 2020. Weed seed bank dynamics responses to long-term chemical control in a rice-wheat cropping system. Pets Mang Sci 76: 1993-2003.
Germishuizen G, Meyer NL, Steenkamp Y, Keith M. 2006. A checklist of South African plants. Southern African botanical diversity network report no. 41. SABONET, Pretoria, South Africa.
Ghannem S, Touaylia S, Boumaiza M. 2018. Beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) as bioindicators of the assessment of environmental pollution. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 24: 456-464.
Griffiths GJK, Holland JM, Bailey A, Thomas MB. 2007. Efficacy and economics of shelter habitats for conservation biological control. Biol Control 45: 200-209.
Haddad NM, Crutsinger GM, Gross K, Haarstad J, Knops JMH, Tilman D. 2009. Plant species loss decreases arthropod diversity and shifts trophic structure. Ecol Lett 12: 1029–1039.
Hahn M, Schotthöfer A, Schmitz J, Franke LA, Brühl CA. 2015. The effects of agrochemicals on Lepidoptera, with a focus on moths, and their pollination service in field margin habitats. Agr Ecosyst Environ 207: 153-162.
Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD. 2001. PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4:1.
Hancock GR, Mueller RO. 2010. The reviewer’s guide to quantitative methods in the social sciences. Routledge, New York.
Hansen AJ, Knight RL, Marzluff JM, Powell S, Brown K, Gude PH, Jones K. 2005. Effects of exurban development on biodiversity: patterns, mechanisms, and research needs. Ecol Appl 15: 1893–1905.
Holland J, Fahrig L. 2000. Effects of woody borders on insect density and diversity in crop fields: a landscape-scale analysis. Agr Ecosyst Environ 78: 1115–122.
ISAAA. 2018. Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2018. ISAAA Brief No. 54. ISAAA, New York.
Isbell F, Adler PR, Eisenhauer N, Fornara D, Kimmel K, Kremen C, Letourneau DK, Liebman M, Polley WH, Quijas S., Scherer-Lorenzen M. 2017. Benefits of increasing plant diversity in sustainable agroecosystems. J Ecol 105: 871-879.
Kaiser L, Ode P, Van Nouhuys S, Calatayud PA, Colazza S, Cortesero AM, Thiel A, Van Baaren J. 2017. The plant as habitat for entomophagous insects. Adv Bot Res 81: 1–45.
Landis DA, Wratten SD, Gurr GM. 2000. Habitat management to conserve natural enemies of arthropod pests in agriculture. Annu Rev Entomol 45: 175–201.
Lundgren JG. 2009. Nutritional aspects of non-prey foods in the life histories of predacious Coccinellidae. Biol Control 51: 294-305.
Madeira F, Tscharntke T, Elek Z, Kormann UG, Pons X, Rösch V, Samu F, Scherber C, Batáry P, 2016. Spillover of arthropods from cropland to protected calcareous grassland – the neigbouring habitat matters. Agr Ecosyst Environ 235: 127-133.
Maestre FT, Castillo-Monroy AP, Bowker MA, Ochoa-Hueso R. 2012. Species richness effects on ecosystem multifunctionally depend on evenness, composition and spatial pattern. J Ecol 100: 317–330.
Marshall EJP. 1989. Distribution patterns of plants associated with arable field edges. J Appl Ecol 26: 247–257.
Marshall EJP, Moonen AC. 2002. Field margins in northern Europe: their functions and interactions with agriculture. Agr Ecosyst Environ 89: 5–21.
Marshall EJP. 2005. Field margins in northern Europe: integrating agricultural, environmental and biodiversity functions. In: Thomas AG (ed) Field boundary habitats: implications for weed, insect and disease management. Canadian Weed Science Society, Canada.
Menta C, Remelli S. 2020. Soil health and arthropods: from complex system to worthwhile investigation. Insects 11, 1 DOI 10.3390/insects11010054
Mucina L, Rutherford MC. 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Murphy TR, Gossett BJ. 1981. Influence of shading by soybean (Glycine max) on weed suppression. Weed Sci 29: 610–615.
Norris RF, Kogan M. 2000. Interactions between weeds, arthropod pests, and their natural enemies in managed ecosystems. Weed Sci 48: 94–158.
Oliver I, Beattie AJ. 1996. Designing a cost-effective invertebrate survey: a test of methods for rapid assessment of biodiversity. Ecol Appl 6: 594–607.
Pereira JL, Picanço MC, Pereira EJG, Silva AA, Jakelaitis A, Pereira RR, Zavier VM. 2010. Influence of crop management practices on bean foliage arthropods. Bull Entomol Res 100: 679-688.
Picker M, Griffiths C, Weaving A. 2019. Field guide to insects of South Africa. Struik Nature, Cape Town, South Africa.
Piessens K, Honnay O, Devlaeminck R, Hermy M. 2006. Biotic and abiotic edge effects in highly fragmented heathlands adjacent to cropland and forest. Agr Ecosyst Environ 114: 335–342.
Plaza EH, Navarette L, González-Andújar JL. 2015. Intensity of soil disturbances shapes response trait diversity of weed communities: the long-term effects of different tillage systems. Agr Ecosyst Environ 207: 101-108.
Pryke JS, Samways MJ. 2012. Conservation management of complex natural forest and plantation edge effects. Landsc Ecol 27: 73–85.
Puricelli E, Tuesca D. 2005. Weed density and diversity under glyphosate-resistant crop sequences. Crop Prot. 24: 533–542.
Randlkofer B, Obermaier E, Hilker M, Meiners T. 2010. Vegetation complexity – the influence of plant species diversity and plant structures on plant chemical complexity and arthropods. Basic Appl Ecol 11: 383–395.
Ratnadass A, Fernandes P, Avelino J, Habib R. 2011. Plant species diversity for sustainable management of crop pests and diseases in agroecosystems: a review. Agron Sustain Dev 32: 273-303.
Rose R, Dively GP. 2007. Effects of insecticide-treated and lepidopteran-active Bt transgenic sweet corn on the abundance and diversity of arthropods. Environ Entomol 36: 1254-1268.
Santín-Montanyá MI, Martín-Lammerding D, Walter I, Zambrana E, Tenorio JL. 2013. Effects of tillage, crop systems and fertilization on weed abundance and diversity in a 4-year dryland winter wheat. Eur J Agron 48: 43–49.
Schaffers AP, Raemakers IP, Sykora KV, Ter Braak CJF. 2008. Arthropod assemblages are best predicted by plant species composition. Ecology 89: 782–794.
Schmitz J, Hahn M, Brühl CA. 2014. Agrochemicals in field margins – an experimental field study to assess the impacts of pesticides and fertilizers on a natural plant community. Agr Ecosyst Environ 193: 60–69.
Scholtz CH, Holm E. 2012. Insects of Southern Africa. Protea Boekhuis, Pretoria, South Africa.
Shelton MD, Edwards CR. 1983. Effects of weeds on the diversity and abundance of insects in soybean. Environ Entomol 12: 296-298.
Siemann E, Tilman D, Haarstad J, Ritchie M. 1998. Experimental tests of the dependence of arthropod diversity on plant diversity. Am Nat 152: 738–750.
Skowno AL, Poole CJ, Raimondo DC, Sink KJ, Van Deventer H, Van Niekerk L, Harris LR, Smith-Adao LB, Tolley KA, Zengeya TA, Foden WB, Midgley GF, Driver A. 2019. National Biodiversity Assessment 2018: the status of South Africa’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Synthesis Report. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Snyman HA, Ingram LJ, Kirkman KP. 2013. Themeda triandra: a keystone grass species. Afr J Range Forage Sci. 30: 99–125.
Tscharntke T, Rand TA, Bianchi FJJA. 2005. The landscape context of trophic interactions: insect spillover across the crop-noncrop interface. Ann Zool Fenn 42: 421–432.
Van Oudtshoorn F. 2012. Guide to grasses of Southern Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria, South Africa.
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