Crossing below-ground boundaries: conceptualizing a framework for soil-borne pest spillover.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Plant Pathology
• Landscape Ecology

Background:

• Soil-borne parasites and pathogens pose risks to agriculture but their cross-boundary movement is poorly understood.
• Below-ground dynamics are influenced by soil structure, host availability, and seasonal changes, unlike above-ground systems.
• Habitat boundaries and edge effects are critical for understanding pest dispersal in agricultural landscapes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize knowledge on below-ground spillover of soil-borne parasites.
• To define ecological mechanisms governing below-ground pest movement and survival.
• To propose a framework for understanding soil-borne pest dynamics across space and time.

Main Methods:

• Review of current knowledge on below-ground spillover.
• Integration of insights from landscape ecology, plant pathology, and movement theory.
• Introduction of the Soil Spillover Framework (SSF), a multi-variable model.

Main Results:

• Habitat boundaries, edge permeability, and seasonal feedback significantly influence below-ground pest movement.
• The SSF model incorporates persistence, trophic interactions, vectors, dispersal, buffering, and biotic flow.
• Soil structure and connectivity nonlinearly affect spillover probabilities, often with temporal delays.

Conclusions:

• Below-ground boundaries act as filters or amplifiers of pest spillover.
• The SSF provides a foundation for predictive modeling and integrated pest management strategies.
• Understanding soil-borne pest movement is crucial for crop disease management, biodiversity conservation, and resilient agroecosystems.