Landscape structure and parasitoid diversity as measures of sustainable landscape

Abstract

Complexity and structure of a landscape influence the presence of insect parasitoids in agricultural landscapes. Landscape structures are often formed from semi-natural habitat fragmentation, which can reduce the richness and abundance of insect parasitoid and affect their ability to suppress pest population. This study was aimed to study the effect of landscape structure on the diversity and abundance of insect parasitoids in long beans fields. In six agricultural regions, landscape parameters were calculated, i.e class area (CA), a number of patches (NumP), and mean patch size (MPS). Insect samplings were conducted using transect methods and direct collection. Results of landscape complexity did not affect the species richness of parasitoid, but it did affect the species composition. The results showed that the higher the CA of the tree, the higher the percentage of parasitization, but the higher the CA of agriculture, the lower the percentage of parasitization. This shows that there are landscape parameter indicators that can be used as a key to see the presence of parasitoids so that they can provide an indication of sustainability. Therefore, landscape structure must consider the importance of landscape management habitats for the conservation of natural enemies especially insect parasitoid as a biological control agent to create sustainable landscapes.