Data underlying the publication: Strip cropping shows promising increases in ground beetle community diversity compared to monocultures

This data belongs to a manuscript, with the title: Strip cropping shows promising increases in ground beetle community diversity compared to monocultures. See the readme files for information on methods, techniques and other relevant information.<br>Abstract:Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, with agriculture as one of the major drivers. There is mounting evidence that intercropping can increase insect biodiversity while maintaining or increasing yield. Yet, intercropping is often considered impractical for mechanized farming systems. Strip cropping is a type of intercropping that is compatible with standard farm machinery and has been pioneered by Dutch farmers since 2014. Here, we present ground beetle data from four organically managed experimental farms across four years. Ground beetles are sensitive to changes in habitats and disturbances, and hold keystone positions in agroecosystem food webs. We show that strip cropping systems can enhance ground beetle biodiversity, while other studies showed that these increases have been achieved without incurring major yield loss. Strip cropped fields had on average 15% more ground beetle species and 30% more individuals than monocultural fields. The higher ground beetle richness in strip crops was explained by the merger of crop-related ground beetle communities, rather than by ground beetle species unique to strip cropping systems. The increase in field-level beetle species richness in organic agriculture through strip cropping approached increases found for other readily deployed biodiversity conservation methods, like shifting from conventional to organic agriculture (+19% - +23%). This indicates that strip cropping is a potentially useful tool supporting ground beetle biodiversity in agricultural fields without compromising food production.

本数据集源自一篇学术手稿，其标题为：《与单作农田（monocultures）相比，条带种植（strip cropping）显著提升步甲（ground beetle）群落多样性》。有关研究方法、实验技术及其他相关信息，请参阅说明文档（readme files）。
摘要：全球生物多样性正以前所未有的速度衰退，农业活动是其主要驱动因素之一。越来越多的研究表明，间作（intercropping）可在维持或提升作物产量的同时，提升昆虫生物多样性。然而，传统间作模式往往难以适配机械化耕作体系。条带种植作为一种适配标准化农业机械的间作模式，自2014年起由荷兰农户率先推广应用。本数据集涵盖了4个有机管理实验农场连续4年的步甲观测数据。步甲对生境变化与外界干扰极为敏感，在农业生态系统（agroecosystem）食物网中占据关键物种地位。本研究证实，条带种植体系可有效提升步甲生物多样性，而既往研究表明，采用该模式并不会造成作物产量的显著损失。与单作农田相比，条带种植农田的步甲物种数平均提升15%，个体数量平均提升30%。条带种植农田步甲物种丰富度的提升，源于不同作物相关步甲群落的融合，而非条带种植体系特有的步甲物种新增。在有机农业（organic agriculture）体系中，通过条带种植实现的农田步甲物种丰富度提升幅度，接近其他易推广生物多样性保护措施的效果，例如从常规农业（conventional agriculture）转向有机农业（提升19%~23%）。这表明，条带种植是一种可在保障粮食生产的前提下，助力农田步甲生物多样性保护的实用手段。