Study

The potential of Collembola as indicators of pesticide usage: evidence and methods from the UK arable ecosystem

  • Published source details Frampton G.K. (1997) The potential of Collembola as indicators of pesticide usage: evidence and methods from the UK arable ecosystem. Pedobiologia, 41, 179-184.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Reduce fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide use generally

Action Link
Farmland Conservation
  1. Reduce fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide use generally

    A replicated controlled study of three arable rotation fields on three farms in England (Frampton 1997) found that reduced pesticide inputs tended to result in higher numbers of springtails (Collembola). Numbers of the springtails Entomobrya multifasciata and Lepidocyrtus spp. were significantly greater in reduced pesticide plots compared to conventional plots. In the conventional plots, these species tended to disappear following chlorpyrifos applications in particular and Lepidocyrtus spp. numbers then remained low for five years. Sminthurinus elegans also declined after chlorpyrifos applications, but tended to recover by the following year and have greater numbers in conventional plots. Fields were divided in half with one receiving conventional pesticide applications, and the other reduced pesticides, i.e. lower herbicide and fungicide where possible and no insecticides (1991-1996). All other practices were the same. Springtails were monitored using a D-Vac suction sampler. In each plot, four samples were taken, each comprising five sub-samples (total area 0.46 m²) between 25-50, 50-75, 75-100 and 100-125 m from the shared field margin. This study was part of the same project (SCARAB – Seeking Confirmation About Results At Boxworth) as (Frampton et al. 1994, Tarrant et al. 1997).

     

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