Uncropped edges of arable fields managed for biodiversity do not increase weed occurrence in adjacent crops.

摘要

Ten experimental management regimes were examined for the effects of 2-metres-wide uncropped edges of arable fields on the weed flora within adjacent arable crops in Oxfordshire, UK. The treatments involved cutting, sowing and herbicide regimes, with differing effects on plant and invertebrate populations. The relative abundance of all plant species within the adjacent crop edge was monitored using permanent quadrats between 1987 and 1991. The most abundant plants in the crop edge included Alopecurus myosuroides, Poa trivialis, Veronica persica, Polygonum aviculare and Stellaria media. The field edge management regimes affected neither the total relative plant abundance, nor the relative abundance of most common species, within the adjacent crop edge. While frequencies of Avena spp. were initially greatest adjacent to margins cut in spring and autumn, this effect was lost through time. The greater abundance of Phleum pratense and Leucanthemum vulgare adjacent to the field edges in which they hadbeen sown presented no threat to good husbandry. The management of uncropped arable field edges to enhance biodiversity is very unlikely to affect weed levels within the crop, especially where they contain, or are sown with, non-invasive perennial species.