How fertilization shapes pest dynamics and biological control in agroecosystems (IMAGE)
Caption
Fig.1: This schematic illustrates the “bottom-up” effects of fertilization on agricultural ecosystems. Increased nutrient input enhances crop growth, which in turn supports herbivorous pests such as sap-feeding aphids. These pests are then targeted by natural enemies, including predators (e.g. ladybird beetles) and parasitoids, which provide biological control. The diagram highlights how fertilization indirectly influences pest populations and the effectiveness of biocontrol agents by altering interactions across trophic levels from plants to herbivores to natural enemies.
Credit
Ruohan Ma, Anne-Violette Lavoir, Nicolas Desneux
Usage Restrictions
News organizations may use or redistribute this image, with proper attribution, as part of news coverage of this paper only.
License
Licensed content