10.5061/DRYAD.FJ63Q
Fischer, Christina
Technical University Munich
Gayer, Christoph
University of Göttingen
Kurucz, Kornélia
University of Pecs
Riesch, Friederike
University of Göttingen
Tscharntke, Teja
University of Göttingen
Batáry, Péter
MTA Centre for Ecological Research
University of Göttingen
Data from: Ecosystem services and disservices provided by small rodents in
arable fields: effects of local and landscape management
Dryad
dataset
2018
ecosystem disservice
Microtus arvalis
biological weed control
agricultural intensification
crop damage
Galium aparine
Organic farming
Rodents
seed predation
Triticum aestivum
2018-08-31T00:00:00Z
2018-08-31T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13016
20701 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
1. In agriculture, both valuable ecosystem services and unwanted ecosystem
disservices can be produced by the same organism group. For example, small
rodents can provide biological control through weed seed consumption but
may also act as pests, causing crop damage. 2. We studied the hypothesised
causal relationships between ecosystem services (removal of weed seeds)
and disservices (removal of wheat and crop damage) derived by small
rodents (voles and mice) at multiple spatial scales. At the landscape
scale, we studied the effects of landscape compositional and
configurational heterogeneity along the former inner German border in east
and west Germany on the abundance of voles and mice and their related
ecosystem services and disservices. At the local scale, we studied how
this abundance and ecosystem functions are affected by management
intensity (organic vs. conventional winter wheat), associated differences
in crop characteristics and edge effects. 3. Linear mixed effects models
and path analysis show that voles drive ecosystem disservices, but not
ecosystem services, in agricultural fields. Daily wheat seed removal by
voles was influenced by increasing wheat height and was almost three times
higher than weed seed removal, which was not related to local or
landscape-scale effects. 4. Abundance of voles and associated crop damage
decreased with lower crop density and higher wheat height, which were
associated with organic farming. Abundance of voles and crop damage were
highest in conventional fields in west Germany. 5. Synthesis and
applications. As the ecosystem disservice of wheat seed consumption by
voles and mice must be considered mainly during crop sowing, management
before harvest should focus on decreasing the pest potential of voles’ but
not mice. Our results suggest that densities of voles and their ecosystem
disservices could be reduced by having fields with low crop density and
high wheat height, practices associated with organic farming. Surrounding
landscapes with low compositional and configurational heterogeneity could
further reduce voles’ pest potential, but with probable negative effects
on farmland biodiversity.
Ecosystem functions of small rodentsData collected at the field edges,
interiors and centres of organic and conventional winter wheat fields in
East and West Germany during the crop growing season in 2014. As response
variables abundance of mice and voles, daily seed removal rate by rodents
of G. aparine and T. aestivum, and crop damage were measured/calculated
and as explanatory variables region (East vs. West), management intensity
(organic vs. conventional) and edge effects (transect: edge, interior,
centre), as well as edge length, Shannon habitat diversity index (SHDI),
crop density and wheat height were used.data_JApplL-2017-00095.R2.xlsx
Göttingen
Mühlhausen
East Germany
West Germany