Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment
Hymenopteran parasitoids are an extremely diverse insect group, crucial for ecosystem functioning and pest control. Due to their high trophic level and high degree of specialization, parasitoids are particularly sensitive to disturbance and extinction events, which makes them good indicators of arth...
| Authors: | ; ; ; ; |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Publication date: | 2025 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad del País Vasco |
| Repository: | Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:addi________::712c2bef4ddbab4a2d7bea797a95b952 |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10810/79219 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Abandonment Almond orchards Hymenopteran parasitoids Landscape complexity Seasonality |
| _version_ | 1878740142764589057 |
|---|---|
| author | de Paz, V. |
| author2 | Asís, J.D. Tobajas, E. Rosas-Ramos, N. Baños-Picón, L. |
| author2_role | author author author author |
| author_browse | Asís, J.D. Baños-Picón, L. Rosas-Ramos, N. Tobajas, E. de Paz, V. |
| author_facet | de Paz, V. Asís, J.D. Tobajas, E. Rosas-Ramos, N. Baños-Picón, L. |
| author_role | author |
| collection | Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación |
| description | Hymenopteran parasitoids are an extremely diverse insect group, crucial for ecosystem functioning and pest control. Due to their high trophic level and high degree of specialization, parasitoids are particularly sensitive to disturbance and extinction events, which makes them good indicators of arthropod diversity. Different studies have shown that parasitoids can be affected by management practices and landscape composition and configuration but few have evaluated the consequences of agricultural abandonment, a process that threatens the high biodiversity associated with European High Nature Value Farmland. In this context, we aimed to determine the effects of traditional almond orchard abandonment on the hymenopteran parasitoid community (at genus level), the role of landscape complexity in mediating these effects, and the impact of several land-use variables at different scales, in Spain. Traditional almond orchards supported a highly diverse parasitoid community, more abundant and richer than that of abandoned orchards in certain months, particularly when surrounded by a high cover of semi-natural habitats. The landscape context influenced the effects of agricultural abandonment: abandoned orchards served as refuges in late summer only in simple landscapes, whereas complex landscapes generally favored parasitoid abundance, especially in traditional orchards. The strong seasonality drove a high turnover rate and shaped community responses to land-use variables at both 150 m and 500 m scales. |
| eu_rights_str_mv | openAccess |
| format | article |
| id | ES_ce0d1794f0e5ecb04cb43dcf5f5ea2ae |
| institution | Universidad del País Vasco |
| instname_str | Universidad del País Vasco |
| network_acronym_str | ES |
| network_name_str | España |
| oai_identifier_str | oai:dnet:addi________::712c2bef4ddbab4a2d7bea797a95b952 |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Journal of Insect Conservation |
| publisherStr | Journal of Insect Conservation |
| reponame_str | Addi. Archivo Digital para la Docencia y la Investigación |
| spelling | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment de Paz, V. Asís, J.D. Tobajas, E. Rosas-Ramos, N. Baños-Picón, L. Abandonment Almond orchards Hymenopteran parasitoids Landscape complexity Seasonality Hymenopteran parasitoids are an extremely diverse insect group, crucial for ecosystem functioning and pest control. Due to their high trophic level and high degree of specialization, parasitoids are particularly sensitive to disturbance and extinction events, which makes them good indicators of arthropod diversity. Different studies have shown that parasitoids can be affected by management practices and landscape composition and configuration but few have evaluated the consequences of agricultural abandonment, a process that threatens the high biodiversity associated with European High Nature Value Farmland. In this context, we aimed to determine the effects of traditional almond orchard abandonment on the hymenopteran parasitoid community (at genus level), the role of landscape complexity in mediating these effects, and the impact of several land-use variables at different scales, in Spain. Traditional almond orchards supported a highly diverse parasitoid community, more abundant and richer than that of abandoned orchards in certain months, particularly when surrounded by a high cover of semi-natural habitats. The landscape context influenced the effects of agricultural abandonment: abandoned orchards served as refuges in late summer only in simple landscapes, whereas complex landscapes generally favored parasitoid abundance, especially in traditional orchards. The strong seasonality drove a high turnover rate and shaped community responses to land-use variables at both 150 m and 500 m scales. The authors wish to thank the farmers for allowing access to their orchards and the Servicio Territorial de Medio Ambiente de Castilla y León for providing the necessary permits to carry out the samplings. We are very grateful to the following taxonomists for their special contribution with the identification of the parasitoids: Lucian Fusu, Ovidiu Popovici, José Tormos, Jesús Selfa, Vicent Falcó, and Mircea-Dan Mitroiu. We also wish to thank Juli Pujade, John Noyes, Andrew Polaszek, and Christer Hansson for their help with the identification of doubtful specimens. We are grateful to Sara Vicente Alonso for her assistance with the fieldwork and to Jorge L. León-Cortés, as well as two anonymous reviewers, whose comments and suggestions improved the quality of the manuscript. This research was funded by the University of Salamanca (Programa I: A2019, A2021-USAL), Estefanía Tobajas was co-financed by the European NextGenerationEU Fund, the Spanish Ministry of Universities and the University of Salamanca (“Ayudas para la recualificacion del sistema universitario español 2021-2022), and Víctor de Paz was funded by the Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional, grant number FPU17/03556. Journal of Insect Conservation http://hdl.handle.net/10810/79219 |
| spellingShingle | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment de Paz, V. Abandonment Almond orchards Hymenopteran parasitoids Landscape complexity Seasonality |
| title | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| title_full | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| title_fullStr | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| title_short | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| title_sort | Traditional almond orchards in contrasting landscapes maintain extremely diverse parasitoid communities threatened by abandonment |
| topic | Abandonment Almond orchards Hymenopteran parasitoids Landscape complexity Seasonality |
| topic_facet | Abandonment Almond orchards Hymenopteran parasitoids Landscape complexity Seasonality |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10810/79219 |