This research examined natural enemy diversity and the ecosystem service of natural biological control in bioenergy crops. Carabid beetles, well documented natural enemies of crop pests, were the focal taxa under examination. The impact of annual and perennial bioenergy crop production on carabid diversity was examined in a large-scale study using Miscanthus and Oilseed rape. Winter wheat and grass for silage were used as annual and perennial conventional crop controls. Results show that carabid diversity was significantly higher in annual crops (Oilseed rape and winter wheat) compared to perennial crops (Miscanthus and grass silage). Moreover, carabid community assemblages in annual bioenergy crops were significantly different from assemblages in perennial crops.

Experimental research examined the role of carabid diversity and biomass in crop pest suppression. Using the Meligethes aeneus - carabid - winter oilseed rape complex as a study system, the individual performance of carabid predator species, and interactions among species at low and high levels of predator biomass, in pest suppression was examined. Pollen beetle larval survival rate declined significantly as carabid predator diversity increased (a diversity effect). As predator biomass increased, larval survival rate decreased (a biomass effect). The impact of increased predator biomass outweighed the positive effect of predator diversity. These finding suggest that carabid predator biomass drives the ecosystem service of natural biocontrol.

Links to papers from this research:

Bourke, D., Stanley, D., O'Rourke, E., Thompson, R., Carnus, T., Dauber, J., Emmerson, M., Whelan, P., Hecq, F., Flynn, E., Dolan, L. and Stout, J. (2013), Response of farmland biodiversity to the introduction of bioenergy crops: effects of local factors and surrounding landscape context. GCB Bioenergy. doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12089

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SAFER-Data Display URL	https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=3035
Resource Keywords	biodiversity, road landscaping, bioenergy crops, biocontrol, Coleoptera, Carabidae
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code	2007-B-CD-1-S1
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme	Biodiversity
Resource Availability:	Semi-Private
Limitations on the use of this Resource	Time restrictions based on publishing peer reviewed articles from this research are requested. Please contact Dr Erin O Rourke for more details erinorourke@umail.ucc.ie
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download):	0
Project Start Date	Tuesday 1st April 2008 (01-04-2008)
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Monday 1st September 2008 (01-09-2008)
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Sunday 30th June 2013 (30-06-2013)
Published on SAFER	Thursday 24th October 2013 (24-10-2013)
Date of Last Edit	Wednesday 4th December 2013 at 17:32:33 (04-12-2013)
Datasets or Files Updated On	Thursday 24th October 2013 at 22:51:03 (24-10-2013)

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Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
The study was conducted 2009 in the south east of Ireland, covering counties Carlow, Cork, Kildare, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. Forty-five study sites were selected, consisting of nine replicates of five treatments (crop types): Miscanthus planted on former tillage (MT), Miscanthus planted on former grassland (MG), winter oilseed rape (OS), winter wheat (CT) and grassland for silage (CG). The location of each site is detailed in the raw data. Each site was located on one individual farm (N=45). Spatial aggregation of individual sites in one area was avoided allowing each site to be an independent sampling point.

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The following is a list of similiar projects and resources on SAFER. Usually these resources share a similiar thematic area to the resource SIMBIOSYS Project: Sectoral impacts on the diversity of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and their associated ecosystem service of biocontrol you are currently viewing. You can view the full description for these projects and resources by using the links supplied.

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• SIMBIOSYS Project: Response of farmland biodiversity to environmental change: effects of scale and landscape structure View Full Metadata Description

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