Unpublished Paper
The impact of biodiversity services in row crop production in annual verses perennial landscapes
Leopold Center Completed Grant Reports
Project ID
E2006-13
Abstract
Researchers studied the behavior of soybean aphids in fields and prairies, and the implications for biological control of these pests
Key Question
Does the occurrence of native, perennial habitat (i.e., prairie) increase the abundance of beneficial insects and lower the abundance of the soybean aphid, a significant pest of soybeans?
Findings
Although beneficial insects, such as lady beetles, are common in soybean fields and are a source of mortality for the soybean aphid prairie did not significantly contribute to increasing the biological control of this pest. The prairies that were studied contained plants that beneficial insects are attracted to, but the abundance of these plants was low. This may explain why prairies did not significantly contribute to the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects in adjacent soybean fields. Results suggested that landscape factors affect soybean aphid abundance at a scale much larger than what was addressed in this study.
Principal Investigator(s)
Matthew O'Neal
Co-Investigator(s)
Lisa A. Schulte Moore
Year of Grant Completion
2011
Disciplines
Citation Information
Matthew E. O'Neal and Lisa A. Schulte Moore. "The impact of biodiversity services in row crop production in annual verses perennial landscapes" (2011) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/lisa_schulte/60/