Einflüsse des Klimawandels auf landwirtschaftliche Schädlinge im Biologischen Landbau Ostösterreichs

Summary

From the year 2000 onwards, organic farmers in Eastern Austria have been
complaining about damages in arable crops by former inconspicuous or recently
immigrated insect pests. In our project, the recent obvious changes in occurrence of
arable pests were investigated with respect to climate change. The literature was
evaluated focussing on Austria and the adjacent Eastern Middle European countries.
Further on, conspicuously, weather-related pest outbreaks in Austria in the last years
were documented by interrogating plant protection experts. For a number of species
from cereals, root crops, oil-, protein- and fodder crops, in recent years an increasing
pest pressure was stated, caused rather by changes in cultivation systems (crop
rotation, reduced soil cultivation) than by climate change. Several other pests, mainly
from cereals (including maize) showed pest outbreaks from 2000 onwards, with a
maximum in the extremely warm and dry year 2003. In a case study, the weather and
climate-related background for the distribution and abundance of wheat bugs
(Eurygaster sp., Aelia sp.) was investigated. In comparing the “wheat bug years” 1953
and 2003, similarities in weather trends were detected which might have caused the
bug outbreaks in both years. Concluding, the implementation of a long-term
monitoring system for pest occurrence and climate change is recommended aiming at
risk avoidance of climate-related pest calamities in the future.