Nature-inclusive Farming Results in Higher Arthropod Abundance, Without Compromising Agricultural Productivity

Nature-inclusive farming aims to balance agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability. Measures such as creating more semi-natural areas and reducing pesticide use, which are central to nature-inclusive farming, are expected to benefit arthropod biodiversity. However, it is unclear whether the expected increased abundance of natural enemies effectively enhances biological pest control and thus helps farmers achieve yields similar to conventional farming. This study examines the relationships between farming systems, pest and natural enemy abundance and how these affect potato yield quantity and quality. We sampled 20 potato fields in nature-inclusive and conventional farming systems, in Western Netherlands. In each field, we surveyed natural enemies, pests, and other arthropods, and quantified leaf damage both early and late in the growing season. Later in the season, potatoes were harvested, tuber damage was assessed and yield quantity and quality were determined. Our results showed that potato fields in the nature-inclusive farming supported higher arthropod abundance, including pests, natural enemies and other species. In the conventional farming, pests increased throughout the season, while natural enemies decreased over time and with distance from the field edge. In the nature-inclusive farming, pests also increased over time and decreased with distance from the field edge. Yield quantity and yield quality did not differ significantly between farming systems. These results indicate the possibility to boost within-field biodiversity and reduce agro-chemical input without compromising agricultural productivity per hectare with nature-inclusive farming systems. These approaches require agricultural land taken out of production, so overall less land is available for farming.