Wt. Stamps et Mj. Linit, PLANT DIVERSITY AND ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES - IMPLICATIONS FOR TEMPERATE AGROFORESTRY, Agroforestry systems, 39(1), 1997, pp. 73-89
Polyculture in crop agroecosystems has been examined in numerous studi
es with the aim of reducing pest populations by increasing diversity a
mong insect populations over those found in traditional monoculture. R
esource concentration and enemies hypotheses predict decreased pest po
pulations in more diverse plant communities. Although results have bee
n mixed, insect diversity has been generally increased in polyculture
over traditional monoculture. Maintaining natural insect diversity in
managed forests to limit possible pest outbreaks has been the goal in
forestry systems. Increased arthropod diversity with increased tree di
versity has been observed, though fewer studies have been conducted in
forestry compared to agriculture. Agroforestry holds promise for incr
easing insect diversity and reducing pest problems because the combina
tion of trees and crops provides greater niche diversity and complexit
y in both time and space than does polyculture of annual crops.