Floral Plantings in Large-Scale Commercial Agroecosystems Support Both Pollinators and Arthropod Predators

Simple Summary Pollinators and insect predators are in decline, largely due to commercial agricultural land use and practices. Planting a mixture of wildflowers in the unused margins of agricultural fields may help to conserve these insects and the important benefits that they provide (pollination and pest suppression). We compared wildflower plantings around commercial potato fields to unmanaged grass and weed margins to determine whether these plantings supported greater numbers of pollinators and predators. We found that wildflower plantings increased the numbers of both pollinators and predators within field margins. Additionally, margins with more flowers blooming led to more pollinators, although, interestingly, more flowers did not lead to more predators. This suggests that predators may benefit from wildflower plantings without needing the flowers they provide, while pollinators benefit from flowers specifically. When we measured pollinators and predators in the nearby potato crops, we found that wildflower plantings did not lead to greater numbers of pollinators or predators. Our results suggest that wildflower plantings can help conserve pollinators and predators in commercial agricultural areas, but that these beneficial insects do not move into adjacent crops, where they would be most likely to provide pollination or pest suppression services. Beneficial insect populations and the services that they provide are in decline, largely due to agricultural land use and practices. Establishing perennial floral plantings in the unused margins of crop fields can help conserve beneficial pollinators and predators in commercial agroecosystems. We assessed the impacts of floral plantings on both pollinators and arthropod predators when established adjacent to conventionally managed commercial potato fields. Floral plantings significantly increased the abundance of pollinators within floral margins compared with unmanaged margins. Increased floral cover within margins led to significantly greater pollinator abundance as well. The overall abundance of arthropod predators was also significantly increased in floral plantings, although it was unrelated to the amount of floral cover. Within adjacent potato crops, the presence of floral plantings in field margins had no effect on the abundance of pollinators or predators, although higher floral cover in margins did marginally increase in-crop pollinator abundance. Establishing floral plantings of this kind on a large scale in commercial agroecosystems can help conserve both pollinators and predators, but may not increase ecosystem services in nearby crops.

Automated summary

Pollinators and insect predators are declining due to commercial agricultural land use. Planting wildflowers in unused margins can help conserve them. Wildflower plantings attract more pollinators and predators, but do not increase their numbers in adjacent crops.