Combined effects of agrochemicals and ecosystem services on crop yield across Europe
Open accessAbstract
Simultaneously enhancing ecosystem services provided by biodiversity below and above ground is recommended to reduce dependence on chemical pesticides and mineral fertilisers in agriculture. However, consequences for crop yield have been poorly evaluated. Above ground, increased landscape complexity is assumed to enhance biological pest control, whereas below ground, soil organic carbon is a proxy for several yield‐supporting services. In a field experiment replicated in 114 fields across Europe, we found that fertilisation had the strongest positive effect on yield, but hindered simultaneous harnessing of below‐ and above‐ground ecosystem services. We furthermore show that enhancing natural enemies and pest control through increasing landscape complexity can prove disappointing in fields with low soil services or in intensively cropped regions. Thus, understanding ecological interdependences between land use, ecosystem services and yield is necessary to promote more environmentally friendly farming by identifying situations where ecosystem services are maximised and agrochemical inputs can be reduced.
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Effects of pest control in sprayed areas were probably masked by insecticide use.
“In sprayed areas, we did not find a pest control effect (all HDIs overlapped zero), probably because effects were masked by insecticide use (37, 38), indicating that insecticide use undermines the full potential of natural pest control.”
From A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production (2019) · cites this paper as [38]
Insecticide application during the course of the experiment could mask the effect of pest control on crop production.
“Insecticide application during the course of the experiment could mask the effect of pest control on crop production (37, 38).”
From A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production (2019) · cites this paper as [38]
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A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production
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- Authors
- Gagic, V., Kleijn, D., Báldi, A., Boros, G., Jørgensen, H. B., Elek, Z., Garratt, M. P. D., de Groot, G. A., Hedlund, K., Kovács‐Hostyánszki, A., Marini, L., Martin, E., Pevere, I., Potts, S. G., Redlich, S., Senapathi, D., Steffan‐Dewenter, I., Świtek, S., Smith, H. G., Takács, V., Tryjanowski, P., van der Putten, W. H., van Gils, S., & Bommarco, R.
- Affiliations
- Department of Ecology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SE‐75007 Uppsala Sweden
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- MTA Centre for Ecological Research Institute of Ecology and Botany Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group Alkotmány u. 2‐4 H‐2163 Vácrátót Hungary
- Institute of Ecology and Botany (HU)
- Lund University (SE)
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- University of Reading (GB)
- Wageningen University and Research Alterra NL‐6708 PB Wageningen The Netherlands
- University of Padua (IT)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology University of Würzburg Biocenter Am Hubland 97074 Würzburg Germany
- Poznan University of Life Sciences Institute of Zoology Wojska Polskiego 78/c Poznan 60‐625 Poland
- Poznań University of Life Sciences (PL)
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology NIOO KNAW NL‐6700 AB Wageningen The Netherlands
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Ecology Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-09-12
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1427-1436
- ISSN
- 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
- 1461-0248
- OpenAlex
- W2755258472
- Cited by
- 113
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 8.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.wur.nl
- Locations
- Ecology Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling (acceptedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- KNAW Research Portal (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (submittedVersion)
- Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Union to the FP7 project LIBERATION (311781)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant and soil sciences
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agronomy and Crop Science › Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems
- Keywords
- agrochemicals, ecosystem services, crop yield, fertilization, soil organic carbon, biological control, natural enemies, landscape complexity, biodiversity, chemical pesticides, intensive agriculture, land use, sustainable agriculture
- MeSH terms
- Ecology, Europe, Pest Control, Biological, Agrochemicals, Ecosystem, Crops, Agricultural
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