Functional Agrobiodiversity

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Catrin Westphal
• Subject Area: Ecology of Land Use ; Ecology and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems, Organismic Interactions
• Term: from 2021 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 493487387

Final Report Abstract

Agricultural intensification and urbanization are major drivers of biodiversity loss and impair ecosystem services that are vital for agriculture. This Heisenberg project focussed on ecological intensification measures to replace external inputs through the enhancement of functional agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services. Grain legumes offer floral resources and improve nutrient availability. We found that faba bean (Vicia faba) cultivation enhanced landscape-wide bumblebee densities, while other wild bee species do not benefit. Legume-cereal intercrops had higher yields than sole crops despite reduced flower abundance that did not reduce flower visitation by bumblebees. Mass-flowering crops, such oilseed rape (Brassica napus), act as environmental filter through past and present cultivation pattern and modified the functional composition of bee communities. Based on pollen metabarcoding and waggle dance decoding, we found that bees adapt their foraging decisions to the landscape-wide availability of resources with implications for the provisioning of pollination services. The smart design of macadamia orchards (Macadamia integrifolia) through the perpendicular arrangement of tree rows to semi-natural habitats improved quantity and quality of yields. However, effective pollinator management needs to consider that many wild bee species rely on diverse floral resources and nesting-sites. In a tropical megacity, we investigated bird and pollinator communities and pollination services in urban agricultural systems. Along the urbanization gradient, bird communities experienced biotic homogenization through losses of insectivorous bird species, which can impair biological pest control. Functional responses to urbanization were also trait-specific in bee communities with, however, more positive than negative effects as several functional groups benefited from urbanization, including dietary specialist and ground-nesting bee species. Mango (Mangifera indica) is an important crop, which is often cultivated in tropical cities. We found that urbanization and insecticide applications interact and that higher amounts of insecticides reduced mango yields by almost 30% in rural orchards. Urbanization amplified the seasonal dynamics of plant-pollinators networks by greater turnover of native plant species. Urban agriculture can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical cities, if farm management adopts ecological intensification through crop diversification and the preservation of native plant species in semi-natural habitats. The transformation of rainforests improves the livelihood of many smallholder farmers but also causes negative environmental impacts. Not only biodiversity but also food web structure and energy fluxes change across rainforest transformation systems. Moreover, we found that careful intensification of smallholder farms can reduce yield gaps, while reduced management intensity in conventional plantation will not result in yield losses. Scientific outcomes of this Heisenberg project indicate multiple pathways of local and landscape-wide measures for ecological intensification across tropical and temperate cropping systems. Combinations of novel cropping practices and landscape-scale measures that improve landscape heterogeneity are the most promising strategies to sustain biodiversity, ecosystem functionality and agricultural productivity.

Publications

• Beyond organic farming - harnessing biodiversity-friendly landscapes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36, 919-930.
  Tscharntke T., Grass I., Wanger T.C., Westphal C. & Batary P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.010)
• Biodiversity of Birds Along the Rural–Urban Interface of the Indian Megacity Bengaluru. The Rural-Urban Interface, 163–170.
  Grass, I., Wenzel, A., Raj, V., Subramanya, S., Westphal, C., & Tscharntke, T.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79972-4_17)
• Chapter Three - Broadening the scope of empirical studies to answer persistent questions in landscape-moderated effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In: Advances in Ecological Research (eds. Bohan DA, Dumbrell AJ & Vanbergen AJ). Academic Press, pp. 109-131.
  Perović D.J., Gámez-Virués S., Landis D.A., Tscharntke T., Zalucki M.P., Saura S., Furlong M.J., Desneux N., Sciarretta A., Balkenhol N., Schmidt J.M., Trematerra P. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2021.10.003)
• Contrasting effects of past and present mass-flowering crop cultivation on bee pollinators shaping yield components in oilseed rape. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 319.
  Beyer N., Gabriel D. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107537)
• Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity. Nature Communications, 12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23931-1
  Le Provost G., Thiele J., Westphal C., Penone C., Allan E., Neyret M., van der Plas F., Ayasse M., Bardgett R.D., Birkhofer K., Boch S., Bonkowski M., Buscot F., Feldhaar H., Gaulton R., Goldmann K., Gossner M.M., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Krauss J., Renner S., Scherreiks P., Sikorski J., Baulechner D., Blüthgen N., Bolliger R., Börschig C., Busch V., Chisté M., Fiore-Donno A.M., Fischer M., Arndt H., Hoelzel N., John K., Jung K., Lange M., Marzini C., Overmann J., Pasalic E., Perovic D.J., Prati D., Schäfer D., Schöning I., Schrumpf M., Sonnemann I., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tschapka M., Türke M., Vogt J., Wehner K., Weiner C., Weisser W., Wells K., Werner M., Wolters V., Wubet T., Wurst S., Zaitsev A.S. & Manning P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23931-1)
• Crop pollination services: Complementary resource use by social vs solitary bees facing crops with contrasting flower supply. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58, 476-485.
  Bänsch S., Tscharntke T., Gabriel D. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13777 2664.13777)
• Effects of three flower field types on bumblebees and their pollen diets. Basic and Applied Ecology, 52, 95-108.
  Piko J., Keller A., Geppert C., Batáry P., Tscharntke T., Westphal C. & Hass A.L.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2021.02.005)
• Identity of mass-flowering crops moderates functional trait composition of pollinator communities. Landscape Ecology, 36, 2657-2671. 10.
  Beyer N., Kirsch F., Gabriel D. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-021-01261-3)
• Taxonomic and functional homogenization of farmland birds along an urbanization gradient in a tropical megacity. Global Change Biology, 27, 4980-4994.
  Marcacci G., Westphal C., Wenzel A., Raj V., Nölke N., Tscharntke T. & Grass I.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15755)
• Using ecological and field survey data to establish a national list of the wild bee pollinators of crops. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 315.
  Hutchinson L.A., Oliver T.H., Breeze T.D., Bailes E.J., Brunjes L., Campbell A.J., Erhardt A., de Groot G.A., Foldesi R., Garcia D., Goulson D., Hainaut H., Hamback P.A., Holzschuh A., Jauker F., Klatt B.K., Klein A.M., Kleijn D., Kovacs-Hostyanszki A., Krimmer E., McKerchar M., Minarro M., Phillips B.B., Potts S.G., Pufal G., Radzeviciute R., Roberts S.P.M., Samnegard U., Schulze J., Shaw R.F., Tscharntke T., Vereecken N.J., Westbury D.B., Westphal C., Wietzke A., Woodcock B.A. & Garratt M.P.D.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107447)
• Vascular plant species diversity in Southeast Asian rice ecosystems is determined by climate and soil conditions as well as the proximity of non-paddy habitats. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 314.
  Fried O., Westphal C., Schellenberg J., Grescho V., Kühn I., Van Sinh N., Settele J. & Bergmeier E.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107346)
• Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 288.
  Senapathi D., Fründ J., Albrecht M., Garratt M.P.D., Kleijn D., Pickles B.J., Potts S.G., An J.D., Andersson G.K.S., Bänsch S., Basu P., Benjamin F., Bezerra A.D.M., Bhattacharya R., Biesmeijer J.C., Blaauw B., Blitzer E.J., Brittain C.A., Carvalheiro L.G., Cariveau D.P., Chakraborty P., Chatterjee A., Chatterjee S., Cusser S., Danforth B.N., Degani E., Freitas B.M., Garibaldi L.A., Geslin B., de Groot G.A., Harrison T., Howlett B., Isaacs R., Jha S., Klatt B.K., Krewenka K., Leigh S., Lindström S.A.M., Mandelik Y., McKerchar M., Park M., Pisanty G., Rader R., Reemer M., Rundlöf M., Smith B., Smith H.G., Silva P.N., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tscharntke T., Webber S., Westbury D.B., Westphal C., Wickens J.B., Wickens V.J., Winfree R., Zhang H. & Klein A.M.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0212)
• Biomonitoring via DNA metabarcoding and light microscopy of bee pollen in rainforest transformation landscapes of Sumatra. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 22, 51.
  Carneiro de Melo Moura C., Setyaningsih C.A., Li K., Merk M.S., Schulze S., Raffiudin R., Grass I., Behling H., Tscharntke T., Westphal C. & Gailing O.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-022-02004-x)
• Functional diversity of farmland bees across rural-urban landscapes in a tropical megacity. Ecological Applications, 32. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2699
  Marcacci G., Grass I., Rao V.S., Kumar S.S., Tharini K.B., Belavadi V.V., Nölke N., Tscharntke T. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2699)
• Ground-nesting bees prefer bare ground areas on calcareous grasslands. Global Ecology and Conservation, 39.
  Gardein H., Fabian Y., Westphal C., Tscharntke T. & Hass A.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02289)
• Landscape composition modifies pollinator densities, foraging behavior and yield formation in faba beans. Basic and Applied Ecology, 61, 30-40.
  Beyer N., Gabriel D. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2022.03.002)
• Pollen and landscape diversity as well as wax moth depredation determine reproductive success of bumblebees in agricultural landscapes. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 326.
  Schweiger S.E., Beyer N., Hass A.L. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107788)
• Pollination deficits and contributions of pollinators in apple production: A global meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59, 2911-2921.
  Olhnuud A., Liu Y., Makowski D., Tscharntke T., Westphal C., Wu P., Wang M. & van der Werf W.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14279)
• Present and historical landscape structure shapes current species richness in Central European grasslands. Landscape Ecology, 37, 745-762.
  Scherreiks P., Gossner M.M., Ayasse M., Bluthgen N., Fischer M., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Neff F., Prati D., Seibold S., Simons N.K., Weisser W.W., Wells K., Westphal C., Thiele J. & Ambarli D.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-021-01392-7)
• Prioritise the most effective measures for biodiversity-friendly agriculture. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 37, 397-398.
  Tscharntke T., Grass I., Wanger T.C., Westphal C. & Batáry P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.02.008)
• Report from the Final SALLnet Meeting – 21 June 2022: Management recommendations for macadamia orchards; Fact Sheet from SALLnet: South African Limpopo Landscapes Network.
  Bringhenti T., Weier S., Whyte V., Rakotomalala A., Anders M., Grass I., Westphal C., Foord S. & Taylor P.
  
• Restoring biodiversity needs more than reducing pesticides. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 37, 115-116.
  Tscharntke T., Grass I., Wanger T.C., Westphal C. & Batary P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.11.009)
• Südafrikanisches Limpopo Landschafts-Netzwerk; Teilprojekt (TP) 1: Koordination, landwirtschaftliche Landnutzungsszenarien: teilprojektspezifischer Schlussbericht. Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften, Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Abteilung Tropischer Pflanzenbau und Agrosystem Modellierung, Göttingen.
  Rötter R.P., Isselstein J., Westphal C. & Bringhenti T.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.2314/KXP:1876313560)
• Direct and indirect effects of urbanization, pesticides and wild insect pollinators on mango yield. Journal of Applied Ecology, 60, 2132-2143.
  Marcacci G., Devy S., Wenzel A., Rao V.S., Kumar S.S., Nölke N., Belavadi V.V., Tscharntke T., Grass I. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14476)
• Epauletted fruit bats prefer native plants and contribute to seed dispersal in a South African agricultural landscape. African Journal of Ecology.
  Mphethe V., Weier S., Westphal C., Linden B., Swanepoel L., Parker D. & Taylor P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13132)
• Intercrops as foraging habitats for bees: Bees do not prefer sole legume crops over legume-cereal mixtures. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 343.
  Kirsch F., Hass A.L., Link W. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.108268)
• Landscape management strategies for multifunctionality and social equity. Nature Sustainability, 6.
  Neyret M., Peter S., Le Provost G., Boch S., Boesing A.L., Bullock J.M., Hölzel N., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Krauss J., Müller J., Müller S., Ammer C., Buscot F., Ehbrecht M., Fischer M., Goldmann K., Jung K.R., Mehring M., Müller T., Renner S.C., Schall P., Scherer-Lorenzen M., Westphal C., Wubet T. & Manning P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01045-w)
• Reduced macadamia nut quality is linked to wetter growing seasons but mitigated at higher elevations. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 12, 100569.
  Bouarakia O., Anders M., Linden V.M.G., Grass I., Westphal C., Taylor P.J. & Foord S.H.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100569)
• Smart orchard design improves crop pollination. Journal of Applied Ecology, 60, 624-637.
  Anders M., Grass I., Linden V.M.G., Taylor P.J. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14363)
• The supply of multiple ecosystem services requires biodiversity across spatial scales. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, 236.
  Le Provost G., Schenk N., Penone C., Thiele J., Westphal C., Allan E., Ayasse M., Blüthgen N., Boeddinghaus R.S., Boesing A.L., Bolliger R., Busch V., Fischer M., Gossner M.M., Hölzel N., Jung K., Kandeler E., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Leimer S., Marhan S., Morris K., Müller S., Neff F., Neyret M., Oelmann Y., Perovic D.J., Peter S., Prati D., Rillig M.C., Saiz H., Schäfer D., Scherer-Lorenzen M., Schloter M., Schöning I., Schrumpf M., Steckel J., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tschapka M., Vogt J., Weiner C., Weisser W., Wells K., Werner M., Wilcke W. & Manning P. (2023). The supply of multiple ecosystem services requires biodiversity across spatial scales. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 7, 236.Le Provost G., Schenk N., Penone C., Thiele J., Westphal C., Allan E., Ayasse M., Blüthgen N., Boeddinghaus R.S., Boesing A.L., Bolliger R., Busch V., Fischer M., Gossner M.M., Hölzel N., Jung K., Kandeler E., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Leimer S., Marhan S., Morris K., Müller S., Neff F., Neyret M., Oelmann Y., Perovic D.J., Peter S., Prati D., Rillig M.C., Saiz H., Schäfer D., Scherer-Lorenzen M., Schloter M., Schöning I., Schrumpf M., Steckel J., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tschapka M., Vogt J., Weiner C., Weisser W., Wells K., Werner M., Wilcke W. & Manning P.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01918-5)
• Urbanization alters the spatiotemporal dynamics of plant-pollinator networks in a tropical megacity. Ecology Letters, 26, 1951-1962.
  Marcacci G., Westphal C., Rao V.S., Kumar S.S., Tharini K.B., Belavadi V.V., Nölke N., Tscharntke T. & Grass I.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14324)
• Balancing economic and ecological functions in smallholder and industrial oil palm plantations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  Wenzel A., Westphal C., Ballauff J., Berkelmann D., Brambach F., Buchori D., Camarretta N., Corre M.D., Daniel R., Darras K., Erasmi S., Formaglio G., Hölscher D., Iddris N.A.-A., Irawan B., Knohl A., Kotowska M.M., Krashevska V., Kreft H., Mulyan Y., Mußhoff O., Paterno G., Polle A., Potapov A., Röll A., Scheu S., Schlund M., Schneider D., Sibhatu K.T., Stiegler C., Sundawati L., Tjoa A., Tscharntke T., Veldkamp E., Waite P.-A., Wollni M., Zemp D.C. & Grass I.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2307220121)
• Early-season mass-flowering crop cover dilutes wild bee abundance and species richness in temperate regions: A quantitative synthesis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 61, 452-464.
  Riggi L.G.A., Raderschall C.A., Fijen T.P.M., Scheper J., Smith H.G., Kleijn D., Holzschuh A., Aguilera G., Badenhausser I., Bänsch S., Beyer N., Blitzer E.J., Bommarco R., Danforth B., González-Varo J.P., Grab H., Le Provost G., Poveda K., Potts S.G., Rundlöf M., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tscharntke T., Vilà M., Westphal C., Berggren A. & Lundin O.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14476)
• Editorial to special issue: Biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural systems: field to landscape-scale management for biodiversity-yield synergies. Basic and Applied Ecology.
  Kernecker M., Felipe-Lucia M., Westphal C. & Hass A.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2024.01.001)
• Hedgerows can increase predation rates in wheat fields in homogeneous agricultural landscapes. Journal of Environmental Management, 349.
  Ferrante M., Schulze M. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119498)
• KOOPERATIV: Biodiversität auf der Landschaftsebene fördern (Abschlussbericht). Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften, Funktionelle Agrobiodiversität & Agrarökologie, Göttingen.
  Schüler S., Hass A., Koch M., Arimond I., Zembold K., Huber J., Ferrante M., Zhang Q., Stähler R., Bartens M., Rudolph G., Lakner S., Plieninger T. & Westphal C.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.47952/gro-publ-216)
• Management Options for Macadamia Orchards with Special Focus on Water Management and Ecosystem Services. In: Sustainability of Southern African Ecosystems under Global Change: Science for Management and Policy Interventions (eds. von Maltitz GP, Midgley GF, Veitch J, Brümmer C, Rötter RP, Viehberg FA & Veste M). Springer International Publishing Cham, pp. 625-652.
  Weier S.M., Bringhenti T., Anders M., Abdulai I., Foord S., Grass I., Lam Q.D., Linden V.M.G., Rötter R.P., Westphal C. & Taylor P.J.
  (See online at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-10948-5_22)
• Rainforest transformation reallocates energy from green to brown food webs. Nature, 627, 116-122.
  Potapov A.M., Drescher J., Darras K., Wenzel A., Janotta N., Nazarreta R., Kasmiatun, Laurent V., Mawan A., Utari E.H., Pollierer M.M., Rembold K., Widyastuti R., Buchori D., Hidayat P., Turner E., Grass I., Westphal C., Tscharntke T. & Scheu S.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07083-y)