Effects of Local Management and Landscape Complexity on Insects and Ecosystem Services in Agroecosystems: A Review of the Intermediate Landscape Complexity Hypothesis

ABSTRACT

Agricultural intensification has led to many environmentally degrading practices that can cause insect biodiversity loss and a decline in ecosystem services. Local management practices and more complex landscapes can help mitigate these negative effects. The intermediate landscape complexity hypothesis suggests that local management best supports insect biodiversity in landscapes of intermediate complexity, which contain both agricultural and natural habitats. However, recent studies have also shown higher biodiversity in both simple and complex landscapes. In this review, we investigated whether certain local practices are more effective across a range of landscape complexity. Our results showed that local management or landscape complexity increases insect biodiversity or ecosystem services in about 25% of cases. We found support for the intermediate landscape complexity hypothesis in some scenarios and positive effects of local management in simple and complex landscapes in others. Future studies should more clearly define how they measure landscape complexity, which will help compare results and find patterns. These findings can begin to inform tailored local management and research directions to maximize insect biodiversity and ecosystem services in different landscape contexts.