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Use of Arthropod Diversity and Abundance to Evaluate Cropping Systems
Author(s) -
Olfert Owen,
Johnson Gregory D.,
Brandt Stewart A.,
Thomas A. Gordon
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2002.2100
Subject(s) - cropping , agroforestry , ecosystem services , ecosystem , biodiversity , ecology , agricultural diversification , agriculture , grassland , arthropod , abundance (ecology) , integrated pest management , species richness , environmental resource management , environmental science , biology
Economic viability and soil degradation are major issues facing farmers in the grassland ecozone of the northern Great Plains. Management strategies such as crop diversification, reduced fallow, and reduced inputs are being promoted as solutions. However, knowledge of the impacts of these management strategies on the grassland ecozone is lacking. Studies using a systems approach, applied as the experimental framework with which to monitor and assess alternate input and cropping strategies, are being conducted through the collaboration of crop, pest, economic, and soil scientists. Five examples are presented that highlight the arthropod (insects, spiders, and mites) component of multidisciplinary studies designed to evaluate crop management strategies. They demonstrate that arthropods are the most diverse group of organisms in the ecosystems studied and include beneficial and pest species. These studies attempt to utilize the arthropod assemblages to characterize the ecosystems that they inhabit. Ecosystem‐based, baseline arthropod faunas are integral to evaluating existing cropping practices and aid in the redesign of farming systems to make them economically viable and environmentally sustainable.