Abstract
In the Colombian Amazon, there has been long-term and sustained loss of primary forest threatening biodiversity and climate change mitigation. Silvopastoral practices that integrate trees into livestock production could help address both local economic and wider environmental challenges.
We aimed to assess the effects of silvopastoral practices on invertebrate communities on smallholder farms in Caquetá, Colombia. Using sweep nets and malaise trapping, invertebrate communities were compared between traditional pasture, silvopasture and forest edge habitats.
Invertebrate communities collected using sweep nets were contrasting among habitat types, communities were significantly different between traditional pasture and forest edge habitats and diversity and evenness were greatest in forest edges compared to traditional pastures. It appears that silvopasture areas, by supporting similar invertebrate assemblages to both traditional pasture and forest edges, may be acting as an intermediate habitat.
When individual invertebrate orders were compared, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera were found in greater abundance in the forest edge habitats, while Hemiptera were more abundant in traditional pasture. Hemipterans are often pests of forage plants in pasture systems and these differences in abundance may have implications for ecosystem services and disservices.
Silvopastoral approaches cannot replace the unique biodiversity supported by native forests but could deliver benefits for invertebrate conservation and ecosystem services if integrated into landscapes.
We aimed to assess the effects of silvopastoral practices on invertebrate communities on smallholder farms in Caquetá, Colombia. Using sweep nets and malaise trapping, invertebrate communities were compared between traditional pasture, silvopasture and forest edge habitats.
Invertebrate communities collected using sweep nets were contrasting among habitat types, communities were significantly different between traditional pasture and forest edge habitats and diversity and evenness were greatest in forest edges compared to traditional pastures. It appears that silvopasture areas, by supporting similar invertebrate assemblages to both traditional pasture and forest edges, may be acting as an intermediate habitat.
When individual invertebrate orders were compared, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera were found in greater abundance in the forest edge habitats, while Hemiptera were more abundant in traditional pasture. Hemipterans are often pests of forage plants in pasture systems and these differences in abundance may have implications for ecosystem services and disservices.
Silvopastoral approaches cannot replace the unique biodiversity supported by native forests but could deliver benefits for invertebrate conservation and ecosystem services if integrated into landscapes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 126-134 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Agricultural and forest entomology |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 10 Oct 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 10 Oct 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We wish to acknowledge and express appreciation to the farmers and landowners who allowed us to carry out fieldwork on their farms and helped us identify habitats and install insect traps. The farmers’ enthusiasm for this project was brilliant and without their support, we would not have been able to gather the necessary data. This invertebrate study was a component of the BioSmart multidisciplinary project that included a botanical study and social science. This research was funded through the RCUK‐CIAT Newton‐Caldas Fund Sustainable Tropical Agricultural Systems Programme BBSRC project numbers BB/R022852/1 and BB/S018840/1, the GCRF and Newton Consolidation Accounts University of Bristol, EPSRC EP/X528158/1, and relied upon the CIAT Sustainable Amazonian Landscapes project, which is part of the International Climate Initiative (KI).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Agricultural and Forest Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society.