Insects (Feb 2016)

The Impact of Landscape Complexity on Invertebrate Diversity in Edges and Fields in an Agricultural Area

  • Tracy R. Evans,
  • Meredith J. Mahoney,
  • Everett D. Cashatt,
  • Jinze Noordijk,
  • Geert de Snoo,
  • C. J. M. Musters

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects7010007
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
p. 7

Abstract

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Invertebrate diversity is important for a multitude of ecosystem services and as a component of the larger ecological food web. A better understanding of the factors influencing invertebrate taxonomic richness and diversity at both local and landscape scales is important for conserving biodiversity within the agricultural landscape. The aim of this study was to determine if invertebrate richness and diversity in agricultural field interiors and edges in central Illinois, USA, were related to the complexity of the surrounding landscape. Our results show taxonomic richness and diversity in field edges is positively related to large scale landscape complexity, but the relationship is negative for field interiors. These unexpected results need further study.

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