Biological corridors are crucial habitat features that boost biodiversity in agroecological system of Argentina

The implementation of biological corridors in agroecosystems is a
management strategy to increase biodiversity and create habitats for
beneficial species that help reestablish biological and natural control by
increasing the complexity of trophic networks and the provision of
additional ecosystem services. Our aim is to ascertain and contrast the
agrobiodiversity, ecological indicators, and associated trophic
interactions of the arthropod populations, birds, mammals, and vegetation
in two crops in an agroecological field and different types of biological
corridors measured in 2022 in the south-central region of Buenos Aires
province, Argentina. Comparing the shrub-herbaceous corridor to the
agroecological crops, the former had the maximum richness, density of
individuals/ha, and Shannon diversity index; the latter was observed in
the tree-herbaceous corridor. This one has the highest number of
interactions, level of grouping, and Agro Index. This suggests that there
are more self-regulating mechanisms and more cohesiveness and integration
among the system's constituent parts. The percentage of beneficial
species in the shrub-herbaceous corridor and in the natural corridor was
highest. Therefore, biological corridors in productive systems are a
strategy that promotes the maintenance of health in agroecosystems, since
they can provide resources and shelter habitat for beneficial insects,
wild species (insectivorous and carnivorous birds), and thereby enhance
the natural control of problem species. By increasing the interactions
with the surrounding environment through biodiversity within productive
systems, the use of native plants in biological corridors would allow the
generation of more harmonious habitats. Practical implication. Our work
shows for the first time in the region that biological corridors increase
biodiversity and promote interactions between different components of the
production system, using a methodology never before used in Argentina,
such as the Griffon index. This study provides precise and understandable
information for technicians, producers, and legislators on the effects of
accurate and comprehensible information on the costs and effects of
integrating biological elements in various production systems, which
facilitates the adoption and promotion of the benefits of the inclusion of
the practice in agroecosystems.