The Influence of Treatment and Location on Arthropod Distributions and Crop Yield in Minimum Tillage Farms in Israel

Abstract

To help ensure food security in a world with a rapidly growing population, it is important for countries to develop and endorse innovative ways to sustainably feed their people. Researchers in Israel are investigating the effectiveness of wild-life farming practices in meeting crop yield demands and in reducing biodiversity loss that is common with conventional farming. Through the avoidance of toxic chemicals, arthropod ecosystem services may be able to enhance crop yield, providing a win-win solution. Using data collected by Dr. Hila Segre in minimum tillage (MT) cropland, I compared the arthropod guild distributions between treatments and locations in fourteen plots to understand trends on the guild level. I conducted a multivariate analysis to compare guild species compositions between the four different groups analyzed. These groups were a combination of two treatments which were herbicide and vegetation and two locations which were field and field-margins in each plot. I also compared guild abundances with wheat yield for eleven plots. Predators and detritivore guilds were the most abundant and diverse in this study. Predacious insects were generally attracted to places with high pest abundances in the fields, suggesting they can act as natural enemy defense mechanisms. Detritivores displayed a negative correlation with wheat yield, while predators and herbivores showed insignificant correlations. Overall, treatment and location had varying effects on the different arthropod guilds.