Elevation and grassland cover shape natural enemy communities in Kenyan maize crops

Natural enemies, including arthropod predators and parasitoids, provide essential pest control services in agricultural systems by reducing pest populations below harmful levels. However, studies examining how natural enemies respond to environmental gradients, such as elevation and grass cover, are limited in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigates the effects of elevation (1200–1950 meters above sea level) and grassland cover in the surrounding landscape (2–30%) on natural enemy communities in maize fields in western Kenya over two sampling seasons. We selected maize plots along gradients of elevation and percentage of grassland and conducted field surveys using pitfall traps to assess the diversity and composition of natural enemies.  Natural enemy diversity, richness, evenness, abundance, and community structure were compared across gradients using generalized linear models (GLMs) and Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS). Overall, ants were the most abundant group. Lo..., , , # Data from: Elevation and grassland cover shape natural enemy communities in Kenyan maize crops ## Data: genera_elevation_grasscover_season1_table.csv Datasets documenting natural enemy communities recorded from 16 smallholder farms in western Kenya (Bungoma, Homabay, and Vihiga counties) during the first sampling season in 2019. * plot_id: Unique identifier assigned to each farm. * actual_elevation_masl: Measured elevation of the plot, recorded in meters above sea level (masl). * elevation_category_masl: Elevation of the plot grouped into six predefined categories (1200, 1350, 1500,1650, 1800, and 1950 masl). * actual_grasscover_percentage: Percentage of grass cover surrounding the plot, calculated using high-resolution satellite imagery within a 1 km radius buffer. * grasscover_category_percentage: Grass cover percentage grouped into three predefined categories: 10%, 20%, and 30%. * Columns F to GL: Counts of natural enemies recorded, including ants, spiders, crickets, beetl...,节肢动物捕食者与寄生性天敌等自然天敌，可通过将害虫种群压低至有害阈值以下，为农业生态系统提供至关重要的害虫防控服务。然而，在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，针对自然天敌如何响应海拔、草地覆盖度等环境梯度的研究仍较为匮乏。本研究于肯尼亚西部的玉米田开展，涵盖两个采样季，旨在探究海拔（1200~1950米海拔）与周边景观草地覆盖度（2%~30%）对自然天敌群落的影响。研究团队沿海拔与草地覆盖度梯度选取玉米样地，并采用陷阱法开展野外调查，以评估自然天敌的多样性与群落组成。 本研究通过广义线性模型（Generalized Linear Models, GLMs）与非度量多维尺度分析（Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling, NMDS），对比了不同环境梯度下的天敌多样性、丰富度、均匀度、个体数量及群落结构。整体而言，蚁科类群为丰度最高的天敌类群。…… # 数据来源：《海拔与草地覆盖度塑造肯尼亚玉米田自然天敌群落》 数据集文件：genera_elevation_grasscover_season1_table.csv 本数据集记录了2019年首个采样季，于肯尼亚西部（布孔加马县、霍马贝县与维希加县）16个小农经营农场中采集的玉米田自然天敌群落数据。 * plot_id：为每个农场分配的唯一标识符 * actual_elevation_masl：样地实测海拔，单位为米海拔（meters above sea level, masl） * elevation_category_masl：将样地海拔划分为6个预设类别（1200、1350、1500、1650、1800、1950 masl） * actual_grasscover_percentage：样地周边草地覆盖占比，通过1公里半径缓冲区内的高分辨率卫星影像计算得到 * grasscover_category_percentage：草地覆盖占比划分为3个预设类别：10%、20%与30% * F列至GL列：记录的自然天敌个体数量，涵盖蚁类、蜘蛛、蟋蟀、甲虫等……