home    about    browse    search    latest    help 
Login | Create Account

Improved field margins highly increase slug activity in Switzerland

Eggenschwiler, Lisa; Speiser, Bernhard; Bosshard, Andreas and Jacot, Katja (2012) Improved field margins highly increase slug activity in Switzerland. Agronomy for Sustainable Development (published online), , - .

[thumbnail of first online] PDF - Published Version - English (first online)
Limited to [Depositor and staff only]

457kB

Document available online at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h031g71426q0w555/


Summary

Most field margins on arable land in Switzerland are narrow and intensively managed. As a consequence, field margins generally harbour few plant and animal species. To enhance biodiversity in arable landscapes, sown species-rich field margins, so-called improved field margins, were introduced in 2008 as a part of the Swiss agri-environment scheme. Here, we tested whether improved field margins increase slug activity density. Slug activity density in and next to improved field margins was compared to slug activity in and next to conventional field margins. Over a period of 3 years, slugs were sampled in three regions in northern Switzerland in late spring using bait stations. Our results show that improved field margins have higher slug activity density, of +191 %, than conventional field margins, independently of the region. The predominant slugs were Arion lusitanicus and Deroceras spp. While A. lusitanicus was generally more abundant in field margins than in fields, with intermediate numbers in the adjacent crop margins, Deroceras spp. showed a more even distribution.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:Arion lusitanicus, Deroceras spp., Pest slug, Agri-environment scheme, Crop protection, Semi-natural habitat, Ecological infrastructure, Feldrand, Biodiversität, Artenvielfalt
Agrovoc keywords:
Language
Value
URI
English
field margins
UNSPECIFIED
Subjects: Environmental aspects > Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Research affiliation: Switzerland > Agroscope > ART - Reckenholz location
Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Crops > Crop protection > Entomology
Switzerland > Zürich University
ISSN:1774-0746
DOI:DOI 10.1007/s13593-012-0101-1
Related Links:http://www.springerlink.com/content/h031g71426q0w555/, http://www.fibl.org/en/switzerland/research/plant-protection-biodiversity.html
Deposited By: Speiser, Dr Bernhard
ID Code:21665
Deposited On:22 Oct 2012 10:50
Last Modified:10 Aug 2021 12:04
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics