Christian Schöb, researcher and deputy director of the Institute for Global Change Research Institute at Rey Juan Carlos University (IICG-URJC), has collaborated on an international study analysing how plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands, and forests. The work, recently published in the prestigious journal Science Advances, synthesizes the results of 149 field experiments conducted on five continents.
The study demonstrates that plant diversity alters the relationships between plants, herbivores, and predators differently depending on the ecosystem. In crops, greater plant diversity reinforces top-down control, increasing the presence of natural enemies and reducing herbivore populations, thus improving agricultural yields. In grasslands and forests, however, bottom-up effects predominate, where increased plant productivity simultaneously boosts the growth of herbivores and predators.
The authors conclude that crop diversification can be an effective strategy for preventing pests and moving toward more sustainable agricultural systems.
You can read the full article, titled “Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests”, at the following LINK.