Annual Wildflower Strips as a Tool for Enhancing Functional Biodiversity in Rye Fields in an Organic Cultivation System

The article is published in Agronomy, and it belongs to the Special Issue Successfully Managing Interdependent Agricultural Landscapes — Processes, Structures and Mechanisms Sustaining the Entire System. Ecological intensification of agriculture (e.g., with the use of wildflower strips) is being currently discussed as a mean for gaining high yields, preserving high biodiversity of farmland.

The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield: a quantitative synthesis

A quantitative synthesis published in Ecology Letters. Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control (18 studies) and pollination services (17 studies) in adjacent crops in North America, Europe and New Zealand.