A landscape perspective in managing vegetation for beneficial plant-pest- natural enemy interactions: a foundation for areawide pest management.

Abstract

This chapter considers the relationships of plant-pest-natural enemy (PPNE) interactions to vegetation. It pays special attention to examples from crop-grassland/shrubland landscapes to complement previous reviews and perspectives on crop-woodland and -forest landscapes. A review of landscape characteristics and principles applicable to management of pests is provided. Landscape analysis approaches are introduced for characterizing and assessing landscape composition, structure and scale of vegetation relevant to PPNE interactions. Throughout, a case example is used on regulation of cereal aphids by natural enemies in North America, and supplemental examples of similar PPNE systems in Europe. It is proposed that understanding of the role of vegetation in PPNE interactions increases with a landscape perspective and positions practitioners to best apply vegetation-based approaches in pest management, both locally and areawide.