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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (7 results)

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  • Peer Reviewed
Farm (2010)
A hedgerow is a border of trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs, rushes, or sedges that surrounds a farm field and can reduce the effects of wind and water erosion, provide habitat for beneficial insects, and more. Find out if a hedgerow is right for your farm.
    Cover page: Establishing Hedgerows on Farms in California
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Berkeley Previously Published Works (2014)
    Within-farm habitat enhancements such as hedgerows could aid pest control in adjacent crops; however, there is little information on whether small-scale restoration impacts pests and natural enemies, and crop damage, and how far effects may extend into fields. We compared restored, California native perennial hedgerows to unenhanced field edges consisting of commonly occurring semi-managed, non-native weeds. Pest and natural enemy communities were assessed in both edge types and into adjacent processing tomato fields. Using sentinel pest eggs, pest control was quantified, and pest pressure and crop damage was compared between field types. Economically-important pests were fewer and parasitoid wasps were more abundant in hedgerows than weedy crop edges. There was no difference in predatory arthropod abundance between edge types, but there was greater predator richness in hedgerow than weedy edges. Predatory lady beetles were more abundant and aphids were lower in fields with hedgerows, up to 200. m into fields, the maximum extent of observations. Fewer of the fields adjacent to hedgerows reached threshold pest levels requiring insecticide application. Benefits of hedgerows to pest control from parasitism extended to 100. m but not 200. m into fields. Farm-scale hedgerow restoration can provide pest control benefits up to 100 or 200. m into fields and multiple hedgerows around fields could enhance pest control throughout entire fields, reducing the need for chemical pest control. © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.
      Cover page: Hedgerows enhance beneficial insects on adjacent tomato fields in an intensive agricultural landscape
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      California Agriculture, Volume 71, Issue 3 (2017)
      Restoring hedgerows, or other field edge plantings, to provide habitat for bees and other beneficial insects on farms is needed to sustain global food production in intensive agricultural systems. To date, the creation of hedgerows and other restored habitat areas on California farms remains low, in part because of a lack of information and outreach that addresses the benefits of field edge habitat, and growers' concerns about its effect on crop production and wildlife intrusion. Field studies in the Sacramento Valley highlighted that hedgerows can enhance pest control and pollination in crops, resulting in a return on investment within 7 to 16 years, without negatively impacting food safety. To encourage hedgerow and other restoration practices that enhance farm sustainability, increased outreach, technical guidance, and continued policy support for conservation programs in agriculture are imperative.
        Cover page: Hedgerow benefits align with food production and sustainability goals
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        California Agriculture, Volume 60, Issue 2 (2006)

        In an 8-year study from 1997 to 2004, we evaluated the use of 186 bat houses in rural areas of California’s Central Valley. We considered the bat houses’ size, color, height and location, and found that location was the main factor affecting bat use. Colonies of bats (generally mothers and their young) preferred houses mounted on structures such as buildings, shaded or exposed only to morning sun, and within one-quarter mile of water. In contrast, individual bats (generally males and nonreproductive females) were less selective in where they roosted. The overall occupancy rate for bat houses in our study was 48% for colonies and 28% for individual bats. Mexican free-tailed and Myotis bats were the main species using the houses, with occasional sightings of pallid and big brown bats. Bats occupied most houses within the first 2 years of placement.

          Cover page: Well-placed bat houses can attract bats to Central Valley farms
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          California Agriculture, Volume 65, Issue 4 (2011)

          Hedgerows of native California shrubs and perennial grasses bordering field crops were examined for the abundance of beneficial and pest insects compared with adjacent weedy areas. During 2 years of sampling in the Sacramento Valley, hedgerows attracted more beneficial than pest insects, while weedy areas showed the opposite trend, attracting significantly more pest than beneficial insects. We conclude that replacing weedy areas at field crop edges with managed hedgerow plantings will sustain or increase beneficial rather than pest insects on farms.

            Cover page: Hedgerows enhance beneficial insects on farms in California’s Central Valley
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            California Agriculture, Volume 64, Issue 3 (2010)

            Irrigation tailwater can transport sediments and sediment-associated agricultural pollutants to nearby waterways. To help protect the biota of surface waters, we evaluated the use of polyacrylamide (PAM, a synthetic material that flocculates sedi-ments when added to water), vegetated ditches and sediment traps to mitigate sediment losses from furrow-irrigated fields. In a 2-year study, liquid PAM injected into irrigation source water most effectively reduced suspended-sediment concentrations in runoff from different soil types. Dry tablet and granule PAM formulations were also effective, as long as their placement in the furrows promoted their dissolution in irrigation water. Vegetated ditches resulted in intermediate reductions in suspended sediments in tailwater. The sediment traps were limited in their effectiveness by insufficient holding time for fine-grained particulates to settle out of the runoff.

              Cover page: Mitigation techniques reduce sediment in runoff from furrow-irrigated cropland
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Davis Previously Published Works (2018)
              Field-edge habitat is important for enhancing biodiversity and associated ecosystem services on farms for long term agricultural sustainability. However, there is some concern that this habitat will increase wildlife activity and damage to adjacent crops. Wildlife incursion into production areas may also pose food safety risks. A two-year study in walnut orchards and processing tomato fields in the Sacramento Valley, California, documented variable use of farm fields by mammalian wildlife. This depended on field-edge habitat (restored hedgerows versus conventionally managed field edges where vegetation was mostly controlled), wildlife species present, season, and crop monitored. In walnut orchards, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner, 1845) were found throughout the orchard, while house mice (Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758) exclusively used hedgerows. In tomato fields, deer mice were more common in field interiors during spring, but used field-edge habitats more during summer; the opposite was true for house mice. In general, deer mice preferred more open sites, while house mice were most numerous in areas with thick cover. Both desert cottontails (Sylvilagus audubonii Baird, 1858) and black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus Gray, 1837) showed affinity to hedgerow portions of fields, although this association was stronger for cottontails. Overall, we documented greater mammalian species richness and abundance associated with hedgerows. However, this increase in diversity did not generally lead to greater wildlife incursion into adjacent crops. In walnut orchards, Salmonella and non-O157 STEC were detected from 2 (1%) and 4 (2%) individual rodents, respectively (n = 218); no detections occurred in tomato fields. A subset of fecal samples (n = 87) from rodents captured in walnut orchards were positive for Giardia (25%) and Cryptosporidium (24%) but prevalence was not associated with field-edge habitat type. Overall, there does not appear to be a substantially greater risk of crop loss or contamination of foodborne pathogens in crops bordered by hedgerows in our study in the Sacramento Valley, although potential damage could vary by the stage and type of crop and wildlife species present.
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