Assessing the impact of local and landscape environmental variables on weed seed consumption in industrialized...

Agricultural intensification reduces biodiversity and its associated ecosystem services, such as weed seed consumption, a natural control mechanism. Weed seed consumption by invertebrates and rodents plays a crucial role in limiting weed establishment by reducing seed banks in agricultural soils. Previous studies have demonstrated that seed consumption can significantly contribute to weed management, but its effectiveness depends on many different environmental factors. Understanding the factors influencing weed consumption is essential for promoting sustainable agricultural practices. This study assessed the effect of local (border and crop characteristics) and landscape (configurational and compositional heterogeneity) variables on weed seed consumption by invertebrates and rodents in central Argentina agroecosystems. We conducted seed removal experiments with exclusion treatments in 20 maize and soybean plots. Granivore fauna consumed an average of 21% of the offered weed seeds, with consumption rates varying by weed seed species. Higher vegetation volume and plant species richness in border habitats significantly increased seed consumption, whereas landscape variables did not have a significant influence. These findings highlight that in highly simplified agroecosystems (90% of cropland), high-quality border habitats have a crucial role in promoting natural seed predation. Enhancing the vegetation structure of border habitats could serve as a sustainable weed management strategy for increasing weed seed consumption in agroecosystems.