PAROLIN , Pia

This review aims at better understanding the employment of biocontrol plants in order to enhance the stability of populations of predatory mites in crop systems, with the ultimate goal to reduce pesticide use and to control pest mites on roses. We analyzed if plant species used in a banker plant system influenced the success in terms of quality...

More than one thousand tree species grow in Amazonian floodplain forests, an environment which is closely linked to a periodical and predictable flood pulse. All biotic and abiotic modes of dispersal which are known for trees in surrounding ecosystems are also present in the floodplains. Additionally, the seasonal flood pulse being a dominant...

The relationship between seed germination and ecological niche is determined by matching germination characteristics with environmental features. In this study, we selected tree species occurring in the largest savanna wetland in South America - the Pantanal. Very few species are endemic or exclusively found in savanna wetlands, and the...

Dittrichia viscosa is a common plant species in the Mediterranean region which is adapted to a wide range of environmental stresses. It is an important species that can be used for phytoremediation, as bioaccumulator or bioindicator, and it has the potential for being employed in integrated pest management in the Mediterranean ecosystem due to...

International audience

Studies of interactions between crops, additional plants, pests and beneficial organisms already exist as well as studies of natural enemy preference, dispersal, and abundance. However, these studies focus on tri-trophic interactions from an "arthropod" point, of view. We think that in order to optimize crop protection methods we need to...

Fish is a very important part of the human diet in Amazonia. Near the growing cities, fish populations and individual size have decreased over the past decades. Alternatives to traditional and industrial fishing arise, including fish farming. Strategies to minimize the impact of fish farms on the environment are needed to have a regular and...

The predatory mirid bug Macrolophus pygmaeus Rambur (Heteroptera: Miridae) is commonly employed to control whiteflies Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), a common pest on tomatoes. In greenhouses of the Mediterranean, tomatoes are important crops and the need to find alternatives to pesticide use is increasing. With the...

Secondary plants may be added to a cropping system for the purpose of improving pest control. In a recent article (Parolin P, Bresch C, Brun R, Bout A, Boll R, Desneux N, Poncet C (2012) Secondary plants used in biological control: a review, International Journal of Pest Management 58, 91-100) we defined different categories of secondary plants...

The flowering and fruiting phenology of Bactris glaucescens (tucum), its fruit consumption by Piaractus mesopotamicus (pacu), and the possible dispersal of its diaspores were observed in riparian forests and nearby areas of a secondary channel of the Rio Paraguai. Between February and October 1998, 136 individuals of P. mesopotamicus were...

The water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms is one of the 100 world's worst invaders. Native to tropical freshwaters of tropical South America, with a putative origin in the Amazon basin and the Pantanal of western Brazil, the water hyacinth is nowadays distributed worldwide. In tropical regions, E. crassipes escaped into local...

We tested whether plant species used in a banker plant system influence the success of a biological control program with predatory mites. Banker plants (BP) may sustain a reproducing population of predators and provide long-term pest suppression. In an experiment lasting 12 weeks, we analyzed the responses of the predatory mite Amblyseius...

In order to reduce the use of pesticides, banker plants may be added to crop systems. They can improve the presence of predatory arthropods by offering shelter or alternative food. In the present study, we analyzed basil as banker plant in a greenhouse IPM tomato crop system testing different plant combinations in monocultures vs. dicultures....

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In crop systems, different types of plant or secondary crop may be grown together with the primary crop for pest management purposes. These additional plants - henceforth called secondary plants - may increase the efficiency and sustainability of biological control of pests by natural enemies. Such plants fall into several categories:...

Protected cultivation or Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) system has increased tenfold in the last 25 years thanks to tremendous scientific and technical breakthroughs, mainly directed to increasing crop yields and adapting to tough ambient conditions. Currently, greenhouse areas are still spreading and the CEA system is one of the...

Question: The encroachment of woody species has been globally reported over much of arid and semi-arid biomes, and has been associated with a decrease in cover and number of herbaceous species. How does the encroachment of a woody shrub affect herbaceous community structure and species composition in grasslands of a wetland ecosystem? Location:...

This chapter focuses on trees and their responses to flooding in large fresh water flood-pulsed ecosystems. The regularity and predictability of the flood pulse has allowed for the development of adaptations by which a large number of tree species are able to grow in ecosystems subjected to seasonally inundated sites. By comparing diversity and...

The introduction of exotic species is considered as one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. The National Forest of Carajas is one of the largest mineral provinces in the world. Mining activities caused changes of the natural habitats, leaving degraded areas after the mineral exploitation. One of the mining areas within FLONA Carajas was...

Flood and fire are considered ecological filters and can shape the structure of plant communities in tropical wetlands and floodable savannas, especially on regeneration. However, in systems exposed to recurrent flood and fire, there is little information on the vegetation effects and implications for management. To test the effects of fire on...

The spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and the aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) both infest a number of economically significant crops, including tomato (Solanurn lycopersicum). Although used for decades to control pests, the impact of green lacewing larvae Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) on plant biochemistry was not investigated. Here, we used...

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Banker plants can enhance biological pest control by providing both floral resources and appropriate oviposition sites, e.g. through acarodomatia, to predator species. The use of materials mimicking domatia i.e. artificial domatia may be an economically favourable alternative to the use of banker plants bearing domatia. The aim of the present...