Abstract
Responses of key invertebrates within Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) of maize reflected advantageous effects for weeds under genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) management. Triazine herbicides constitute the main weed control in current conventional systems, but will be withdrawn under future EU guidelines. Here, we reappraise FSE data to predict effects of this withdrawal on invertebrate biodiversity under alternative management scenarios. Invertebrate indicators showed remarkably consistent and sensitive responses to weed abundance. Their numbers were consistently reduced by atrazine used prior to seedling emergence, but at reduced levels compared to similar observations for weeds. Large treatment effects were, therefore, maintained for invertebrates when comparing other conventional herbicide treatments with GMHT, despite reduced differences in weed abundance. In particular, benefits of GMHT remained under comparisons with best estimates of future conventional management without triazines. Pitfall trapped Collembola, seed-feeding carabids and a linyphiid spider followed closely trends for weeds and may, therefore, prove useful for modelling wider biodiversity effects of herbicides. Weaker responses to triazines applied later in the season, at times closer to the activity and capture of invertebrates, suggest an absence of substantial direct effects. Contrary responses for some suction-sampled Collembola and the carabid Loricera pilicornis were probably caused by a direct deleterious effect of triazines.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Invertebrate indicators responded consistently to weed abundance in maize.
Zea maysNot reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Invertebrate indicators showed remarkably consistent and sensitive responses to weed abundance”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Atrazine before seedling emergence reduced invertebrate numbers in maize.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Their numbers were consistently reduced by atrazine used prior to seedling emergence”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
GMHT management retained benefits for invertebrates compared with projected conventional management without triazines.
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“benefits of GMHT remained under comparisons with best estimates of future conventional management without triazines”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Pitfall-trapped Collembola, seed-feeding carabids and linyphiid spiders followed weed trends.
- Interactor
- weedse0weed
- Outcome
- Pitfall trapped Collembola, seed-feeding carabids and a linyphiid spidere0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Pitfall trapped Collembola, seed-feeding carabids and a linyphiid spider followed closely trends for weeds”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Later triazine applications had weaker invertebrate responses.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Weaker responses to triazines applied later in the season”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Some suction-sampled Collembola and Loricera pilicornis showed contrary responses to triazines.
- Treatment
- triazinese0
- Outcome
- Contrary responses for some suction-sampled Collembola and the carabid Loricera pilicornise0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Contrary responses for some suction-sampled Collembola and the carabid Loricera pilicornis were probably caused by a direct deleterious effect of triazines”
t0“maize”