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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Contribution of landscape drivers to explain crop pest infestation levels at national scale

subject

description

Managing crop pests in an integrated framework requires increased knowledge aboutpest abundance drivers. Landscape properties, agricultural practices or climate can affectthe presence of crop pests at different scales. However, few studies considered these affectsat national scale, due to a lack of data. In this study, we analysed the effect of climatic conditions and land-uses occupation on the level of pest infestation of three types of pests: slugs(Deroceras reticulatum & Arion hortensis); cereal aphids (Sitobion avenae & Rhopalosiphumpadi) and oilseed rape pests (Meligethes aeneus & Ceuhtorrhynchus napi). Pest infestationlevels were derived the French national epidemiological monitoring database "Epiphyt" andaggregated for 181 small agricultural areas over the French territory. Climatic data weregathered from the French national meteorological service database "Safran" and land-useswere mapped using national cartography databases. Climatic variables were the main driversof the level of pest infestations, in particular temperature and humidity. Pest infestation levelwere also influenced by some landscape properties such hedgerow and maize proportion, whilethe proportion of pest host crops and semi-naturals habitats never had significant effects.