Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems
Conventional oil palm plantations, characterized by monocropping practices, are susceptible to pest infestations due to the lack of diversity in crop composition. This reliance on monoculture often necessitates heavy pesticide use, posing considerable risks to human health, the environment, and biod...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Informa Healthcare
2024
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/1/115375.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848866760200028160 |
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| author | Norhisham, Ahmad R. Yahya, Muhammad Syafiq Nur Atikah, Sharifah Jamian, Syari Bach, Oliver McCord, Mona Howes, John Azhar, Badrul |
| author_facet | Norhisham, Ahmad R. Yahya, Muhammad Syafiq Nur Atikah, Sharifah Jamian, Syari Bach, Oliver McCord, Mona Howes, John Azhar, Badrul |
| author_sort | Norhisham, Ahmad R. |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Conventional oil palm plantations, characterized by monocropping practices, are susceptible to pest infestations due to the lack of diversity in crop composition. This reliance on monoculture often necessitates heavy pesticide use, posing considerable risks to human health, the environment, and biodiversity. In contrast, regenerative agricultural approaches support ecosystem services, such as natural pest control, thereby reducing pesticide dependency and promoting biodiversity while maintaining productivity. The present study examined the composition of arthropod assemblages and understory plant species in chemical-free oil palm plantations, comparing farms with the integration of non-crop plant beds to those without intervention. We established either 10 square plant beds measuring 3 × 3 m or three rectangular beds measuring 9 × 3 m between the planting rows at each experimental plot. Using coloured pan traps and sticky traps, we assessed the relationship between understory plant species richness and arthropod assemblages, including the number of arthropod families, overall abundance, and selected trophic guilds. Our findings reveal that the integration of non-crop plant mixtures significantly enhances the number of arthropod families, as well as the abundance of predatory and phytophagous arthropods. Moreover, we observed that arthropod assemblages, most notably the number of families, overall abundance, abundance of scavengers and predators were significantly and positively correlated with the number of understory vegetation species. The study highlights the potential of establishing non-crop plant bed as a practical approach to enhancing habitat complexity for natural enemies, thereby fostering biodiversity and contribute to the resilience and functioning of agroecosystem within monoculture plantations. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:25:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-115375 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:25:43Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Informa Healthcare |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1153752025-03-04T00:09:18Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/ Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems Norhisham, Ahmad R. Yahya, Muhammad Syafiq Nur Atikah, Sharifah Jamian, Syari Bach, Oliver McCord, Mona Howes, John Azhar, Badrul Conventional oil palm plantations, characterized by monocropping practices, are susceptible to pest infestations due to the lack of diversity in crop composition. This reliance on monoculture often necessitates heavy pesticide use, posing considerable risks to human health, the environment, and biodiversity. In contrast, regenerative agricultural approaches support ecosystem services, such as natural pest control, thereby reducing pesticide dependency and promoting biodiversity while maintaining productivity. The present study examined the composition of arthropod assemblages and understory plant species in chemical-free oil palm plantations, comparing farms with the integration of non-crop plant beds to those without intervention. We established either 10 square plant beds measuring 3 × 3 m or three rectangular beds measuring 9 × 3 m between the planting rows at each experimental plot. Using coloured pan traps and sticky traps, we assessed the relationship between understory plant species richness and arthropod assemblages, including the number of arthropod families, overall abundance, and selected trophic guilds. Our findings reveal that the integration of non-crop plant mixtures significantly enhances the number of arthropod families, as well as the abundance of predatory and phytophagous arthropods. Moreover, we observed that arthropod assemblages, most notably the number of families, overall abundance, abundance of scavengers and predators were significantly and positively correlated with the number of understory vegetation species. The study highlights the potential of establishing non-crop plant bed as a practical approach to enhancing habitat complexity for natural enemies, thereby fostering biodiversity and contribute to the resilience and functioning of agroecosystem within monoculture plantations. Informa Healthcare 2024-06-24 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/1/115375.pdf Norhisham, Ahmad R. and Yahya, Muhammad Syafiq and Nur Atikah, Sharifah and Jamian, Syari and Bach, Oliver and McCord, Mona and Howes, John and Azhar, Badrul (2024) Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems. Cogent Food and Agriculture, 10 (1). art. no. 2367383. pp. 1-10. ISSN 2331-1932; eISSN: 2331-1932 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2024.2367383 10.1080/23311932.2024.2367383 |
| spellingShingle | Norhisham, Ahmad R. Yahya, Muhammad Syafiq Nur Atikah, Sharifah Jamian, Syari Bach, Oliver McCord, Mona Howes, John Azhar, Badrul Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title | Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title_full | Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title_short | Non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| title_sort | non-crop plant beds can improve arthropod diversity including beneficial insects in chemical-free oil palm agroecosystems |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/115375/1/115375.pdf |