Harvesting biofuel grasslands has mixed effects on natural enemy communities and no effects on biocontrol services

Kim, Tania N.; Fox, Aaron F.; Wills, Bill D.; Meehan, Timothy D.; Landis, Douglas A.; Gratton, Claudio; Firn, ed., Jennifer

doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12901

Harvesting biofuel grasslands has mixed effects on natural enemy communities and no effects on biocontrol services

Journal Article · Mon Apr 10 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Applied Ecology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12901· OSTI ID:1401769

Kim, Tania N. ^[1]; Fox, Aaron F. ^[2]; Wills, Bill D. ^[3]; Meehan, Timothy D. ^[4]; Landis, Douglas A. ^[3]; Gratton, Claudio ^[5]; Firn, ed., Jennifer

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center University of Wisconsin Madison Madison WI 53726 USA
Center for Integrated Plant Systems Lab Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA, Department of Plant Science California State Polytechnic University Pomona CA 91768 USA
Center for Integrated Plant Systems Lab Michigan State University East Lansing MI 48824 USA
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center University of Wisconsin Madison Madison WI 53726 USA, National Ecological Observatory Network Boulder CO 80301 USA
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center University of Wisconsin Madison Madison WI 53726 USA, Department of Entomology University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison WI 53706 USA

Summary

Perennial bioenergy systems, such as switchgrass and restored prairies, are alternatives to commonly used annual monocultures such as maize. Perennial systems require lower chemical input, provide greater ecosystem services such as carbon storage, greenhouse gas mitigation and support greater biodiversity of beneficial insects. However, biomass harvest will be necessary in managing these perennial systems for bioenergy production, and it is unclear how repeated harvesting might affect ecosystem services.

In this study, we examined how repeated production‐scale harvesting of diverse perennial grasslands influences vegetation structure, natural enemy communities (arthropod predators and parasitoids), and natural biocontrol services in two states (Wisconsin and Michigan, USA) over multiple years.

We found that repeated biomass harvest reduced litter biomass and increased bare ground cover. Some natural enemy groups, such as ground‐dwelling arthropods, decreased in abundance with harvest, whereas others such as foliar‐dwelling arthropods increased in abundance. The disparity in responses is likely due to how different taxonomic groups utilize vegetation and differences in dispersal abilities.

At the community level, biomass harvest altered community composition, increased total arthropod abundance and decreased evenness but did not influence species richness, diversity or biocontrol services. Harvest effects varied with time, diminishing in strength both within the season (for total abundance and evenness), across seasons (for evenness) or were consistent throughout the duration of the study (for community composition). Greater functional redundancy and compensatory responses of the different taxonomic groups may have buffered against the potentially negative effects of harvest on biocontrol services.

Synthesis and applications . Our results show that in the short‐term, repeated harvesting of perennial grasslands (when insect activity is low) consistently altered vegetation structure but had mixed effects on natural enemy communities and no discernible effects on biocontrol services. However, the long‐term effects of repeated harvesting on vegetation structure, natural enemies and other arthropod‐derived ecosystem services such as pollination and decomposition remain largely unknown.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1401769

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Ecology Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 54; ISSN 0021-8901

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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