Data from: Biological pest control and yields depend on spatial and temporal crop cover dynamics

1. Modern agricultural landscapes are dynamic systems with inter-annually changing proportions of different crop types. However, the effects of spatiotemporal changes in crop area on crop yields and crop–herbivore–antagonist interactions have been rarely considered, in contrast to documented beneficial effects of semi-natural habitats on biological pest control at local and landscape scales. In this study, we examined how the proportion of oilseed rape fields in a landscape and the annual increase or decrease of oilseed rape cover due to crop rotation affect oilseed rape herbivores, their natural enemies and crop yield. 2. During two study yearswe examined the abundance of adult and larval pollen beetles,parasitism of pollen beetle larvae by a parasitic ichneumonid, and crop yields (seed weight per plant)in the edge and centre of 36 oilseed rape fields. The fields differed in the proportion of oilseed rape in the surrounding landscape at 1-km radius and in the inter-annual change in the proportion of oilseed rapefrom the previous year to the respective study year. 3. Adult pollen beetle abundance decreased in one study year and larval pollen beetle abundance and parasitism rates decreased in both study years with spatially increasing oilseed rape proportion in the landscape, indicating dilution effects on both trophic levels. Crop yield was positively affected by spatially increasing proportions of oilseed rape. An inter-annual increase in the proportion of oilseed rape led to the dilution of pest species, but hadno significant effect on yield or parasitism rate. 4. Synthesis and applications.The negative effects of pollen beetles on yields despite regular insecticide applications underpin the need for improved techniques for controlling this pest.Our results emphasize the potentialto enhance crop yields by the management of spatiotemporal crop cover dynamics within landscapes.We recommend that future management schemes should coordinatethe spatial aggregation and annual dynamics of oilseed rape coverin a landscape as a potential way to reduce pest impacts in intensively managed oilseed rape fields.