Mihwan Sataral, Akhmad Rizali, Hermanu Triwidodo, I Wayan Winasa, Rosyid Amrulloh, Fajrin Fahmi, Damayanti Buchori
Local conservation strategies, such as establishing flowering plants in agricultural fields, attract natural enemies and are important for suppressing pest populations. However, their effectiveness is influenced by the complexity of the surrounding landscapes. This study investigated the efficacy of local conservation strategies, specifically the introduction of flowering plants in maize fields, for enhancing natural enemies and pest suppression at the landscape scale. We examined the effect of these plants on predator and parasitoid abundance and diversity, as well as pest parasitism, across eight maize fields: four with flowering plants and four without. Sampling involved yellow and pitfall traps, along with direct collection of lepidopteran pest life stages. The landscape composition was assessed using Sentinel-2 imagery and a random forest algorithm in the Google Earth Engine. Analysis using glmmTMB revealed that landscape composition, including class areas of semi-natural habitats, positively influenced predator abundance but negatively impacted parasitoid abundance and richness. Planting flowering plants at the edges of maize fields did not significantly increase the abundance and richness of parasitoids and predators. Landscape composition can often mask the effectiveness of flowering plants in enhancing parasitoid abundance and richness. An increase in the number of patches and class areas of semi-natural habitats can reduce parasitoid abundance and diversity while promoting higher predator abundance. We also found that flowering plants did not affect pest parasitism. However, pest parasitism has increased in landscapes dominated by agriculture. These findings highlight the importance of considering the landscape context when integrating flowering plants into pest control strategies. © Akadémiai Kiadó Zrt. 2025.
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, West Java, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia; Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Farmers and Fishermen Center (TNC), IPB University, West Java, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia; Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Science (CTSS), IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
