Abstract
There is currently an increasing societal and political shift towards more sustainable agricultural systems to provide both food production and ecological biodiversity levels. This shift has recently modified scientific questioning and brought up new research challenges for agro-ecological research. This is the case in particular for weed management, where issues have so far largely focused on the conflict between weeds and crop productivity. Here, we review recent findings that have led to a changing perception on weeds in agro-ecosystems and upcoming areas in terms of weed management options. Our main findings are that weeds have numerous interactions with other organisms and, in turn, some of these interactions can have direct, either negative or positive, effects on the functioning of the agro-ecosystem. Many interactions are species-specific, and therefore assessing the role of weed communities in the agro-ecosystem would benefit from further development in the functional grouping of weed species. In terms of weed management our review shows that alternative cropping systems can deliver both good levels of crop productivity and of weed management at the field level. Weeds respond to landscape attributes and there is a need to fully assess the scope for utilizing the spatio-temporal organization of cropping systems and uncultivated habitats as a tool for minimizing weed infestations. Weeds are also submitted to biological regulation through the predation of their seeds and further research is required to assess the effect of cropping systems and landscape on levels of weed natural enemies, and therefore on the potential contribution of biological regulation in the management of weeds.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albrecht H. (2003) Suitability of arable weeds as indicator organisms to evaluate species conservation effects of management in agricultural ecosystems, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 98, 201–211.
Alignier A., Meiss H., Petit S., Reboud X. (2008) Variation of postdispersal weed seed predation according to weed species, space and time, J. Plant. Dis. Prot. 21, 221–226.
Altieri M.A. (1995) Agroecology: the science of sustainable agriculture, Westview Press, Boulder.
Altieri M.A. (1999) The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 74, 19–31.
Anderson R.L. (2007) Managing weeds with a dualistic approach of prevention and control. A review, Agron. Sustain. Dev. 2, 13–18.
Andreasen C., Stryhn H., Streibig J.C. (1996) Decline of flora in Danish arable fields, J. Appl. Ecol. 33, 619–626.
Anonymous (2008) Ecophyto 2018. Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, 10 septembre 2008, 20 p.
Arias-Estevez M., Lopez-Periago E., Martinez-Carballo E. (2008) The mobility and degradation of pesticides in soils and the pollution of groundwater resources, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 123, 247–260.
Backman J.P.C., Tiainen J. (2002) Habitat quality of field margins in a Finnish farmland area for bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Bombus and Psithyrus), Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 88, 53–68.
Baessler C., Klotz S. (2006) Effects of changes in agricultural land use on landscape structure and arable weed vegetation in the last 50 years, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 115, 43–50.
Baraibar B., Westerman P.R., Carrion E., Recasens J. (2009) Effects of tillage and irrigation in cereal fields on weed seed removal by seed predators, J. Appl. Ecol. 46, 380–387.
Bà rberi P. (2002) Weed management in organic agriculture: are we addressing the right issues? Weed Res. 42, 177–193.
Bastiaans L, Kropff M.J., Goudriaanb J., van Laar H.H. (2000) Design of weed management systems with a reduced reliance on herbicides poses new challenges and prerequisites for modeling crop-weed interactions, Field Crop. Res. 67, 161–179.
Bastiaans L., Paolini R., Baumann D.T. (2008) Focus on ecological weed management: what is hindering adoption? Weed Res. 48, 481–491.
Benton T.G., Vickery J.A., Wilson J.D. (2003) Farmland biodiversity: is habitat heterogeneity the key? Trends Ecol. Evol. 18, 182–188.
Benvenuti S. (2007) Weed seed movement and dispersal strategies in the agricultural environment, Weed Biol. Manag. 7, 141–157.
Bockstaller C., Guichard L., Makowski D., Aveline A., Girardin P., Plantureux S. (2008) Agri-environmental indicators to assess cropping and farming systems. A review, Agron. Sustain. Dev. 28, 139–149.
Bohan D.A., Hawes C., Haughton A.J., Denholm I., Champion G.T., Perry J.N., Clark S.J. (2007) Statistical models to evaluate invertebrate-plant trophic interactions in arable systems, Bull. Entomol. Res. 97, 265–280.
Booman G.C., Laterra P., Comparatore V., Murillo N. (2009) Postdispersal predation of weed seeds by small vertebrates: interactive influences of neighbor land use and local environment, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 129, 277–285.
Brust G.E. (1994) Seed-predators reduce broadleaf weed growth and competitive ability, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 48, 27–34.
Butault J.P., Dedryver C.A., Gary C., Guichard L., Jacquet F., Meynard J.M., Nicot P., Pitrat M., Reau R., Sauphanor B., Savini I., Volay T. (2010) Ecophyto R & D. Quelles voies pour réduire l’usage des pesticides ? Synthèse du rapport d’étude, INRA Editeur (France), 90 p.
Cardina J., Norquay H.M., Stinner B.R., McCartney D.A. (1996) Postdispersal predation of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) seeds, Weed Sci. 44, 534–539.
Chikowo R., Faloya V., Petit S., Munier-Jolain N. (2009) Integrated Weed Management systems allow reduced reliance on herbicides and long term weed control, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 132, 237–242.
Cousins S.A.O., Aggemyr E. (2008) The influence of field shape, area and surrounding landscape an plant species richness in grazed ex-fields, Biol. Conserv. 141, 126–135.
Cromar H.E., Murphy S.D., Swanton C.J. (1999) Influence of tillage and crop residue on postdispersal predation of weed seeds. Weed Sci. 47, 184–194.
Debaeke P., Aboudrare A. (2004) Adaptation of crop management to water-limited environments, Eur. J. Agron. 21, 433–446.
Dornelas M., Moonen A.C., Magurran A.E., Barberi P. (2009) Species abundance distributions reveal environmental heterogeneity in modified landscapes, J. Appl. Ecol. 46, 666–672.
Firbank L.G., Watkinson A.R. (1985) On the analysis of competition within two-species mixtures of plants, J. Appl. Ecol. 22, 503–517.
Firbank L.G., Petit S., Smart S.M., Blain A., Fuller R.J. (2008) Assessing the impacts of agricultural intensification on biodiversity: a British perspective, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 363, 777–787.
Franke A.C., Lotz L.A.P., Van der Burg W.J., Van Overbeek L. (2009) The role of arable weed seeds for agroecosystem functioning, Weed Res. 49, 131–141.
Fried G. (2007) Variations spatiale et temporelle des communautés adventices des cultures annuelles en France, Thèse de doctorat, INRA-Université de Bourgogne, France, 357 p.
Fried G., Norton L.R., Reboud X. (2008) Environmental and management factors determining weed species composition and diversity in France, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 128, 68–76.
Fried G., Petit S., Dessaint F., Reboud X. (2009) Arable weed decline in Northern France: Crop edges as refugia for weed conservation? Biol. Conserv. 142, 238–243.
Gabriel D., Thies C., Tscharntke T. (2005) Local diversity of arable weeds increases with landscape complexity, Perspect. Plant Ecol. Evol. Syst. 7, 85–93.
Gallandt E.R., Molloy T., Lynch R.P., Drummond F.A. (2005) Effect of cover-cropping systems on invertebrate seed predation, Weed Sci. 53, 69–76.
Gerowitt B. (2003) Development and control of weeds in arable farming systems, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 98, 247–254.
Gibot-Leclerc S., Brault M., Pinochet X., Sallé G. (2003) Rôle potentiel des plantes adventices du colza d’hiver dans l’extension de l’orobanche rameuse en Poitou-Charentes, C.R. Biol. 326, 645–658.
Gibbons D.W., Bohan D.A., Rothery P. (2006) Weed seed resources for birds in fields with contrasting conventional and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 273, 1921–1928.
Gibson R.H., Nelson I.L., Hopkins G.W., Hamlett B.J., Memmott J. (2006) Pollinator webs, plant communities and the conservation of rare plants: arable weeds as a case study, J. Appl. Ecol. 43, 246–257.
Hawes C., Haughton A.J., Bohan D.A., Squire G.R. (2009) Functional approaches for assessing plant and invertebrate abundance patterns in arable systems, Basic Appl. Ecol. 10, 34–42.
Hawes C., Haughton A.J., Osborne J.L., Roy D.B., Clark S.J., Perry J.N., Rothery P., Bohan D.A., Brooks D.R., Champion G.T., Dewar A.M., Heard M.S., Woiwod I.P., Daniels R.E., Young M.W., Parish A.M., Scott R.J., Firbank L.G., Squire G.R. (2003) Responses of plants and invertebrate trophic groups to contrasting herbicide regimes in the Farm Scale Evaluations of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 358, 1899–1913.
Heggenstaller A.H., Menalled F.D., Liebman M., Westerman P.R. (2006) Seasonal patterns in post-dispersal seed predation of Abutilon theophrasti and Setaria faberi in three cropping systems, J. Appl. Ecol. 43, 999–1010.
Honek A., Martinkova Z., Jarosik V. (2003) Ground beetles (Carabidae) as seed predators, Eur. J. Entomol. 100, 531–544.
Honek A., Martinkova Z., Saska P., Pekar S. (2007) Size and taxonomic constraints determine the seed preferences of Carabidae (Coleoptera), Basic Appl. Ecol. 8, 343–353.
Hooper D.U., Solan M., Symstad A., Diaz, S., Gessner M.O., Buchmann N., Degrange V., Grime P., Hulot F., Mermillod-Bondin F., Roy J., Spehn E., Van Peer L. (2002) Species diversity, functional diversity, and ecosystem functioning in: Loreau M., Naeem S., Inchausti P. (Eds.), Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: Synthesis and perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 195–281.
Hyvönen T. (2007) Can conversion to organic farming restore the species composition of arable weed communities, Biol. Conserv. 137, 382–390.
Hyvönen T., Huusela-Veistola E. (2008) Arable weeds as indicators of agricultural intensity — a case study from Finland, Biol. Conserv. 141, 2857–2864.
Isaacs R., Tuell J., Fiedler A., Gardiner M., Landis D. (2009) Maximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: the role of native plants, Front. Ecol. Environ. 7, 196–203.
Jackson L.E., Pascual U., Hodgkin T. (2007) Utilizing and conserving agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 121, 196–210.
Jacob H.S., Minkey D.M., Gallagher R.S., Borger C.P. (2006) Variation in postdispersal weed seed predation in a crop field, Weed Sci. 54, 148–155.
Jørnsgård B., Rasmussen K., Hill J., Christiansen L.J. (1996) Influence of nitrogen on competition between cereals and their natural weed populations, Weed Res. 36, 461–470.
Kollmann J., Bassin S. (2001) Effects of management on seed predation in wildflower strips in northern Switzerland, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 83, 285–296.
Kibblewhite M.G., Ritz K., Swift M.J. (2008) Soil health in agricultural systems, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 363, 685–701.
Koocheki A., Nassiri M., Alimoradi L., Ghorbani R. (2009) Effect of cropping systems and crop rotations on weeds, Agron. Sustain. Dev. 29, 401–408.
Kromp B. (1999) Carabid beetles in sustainable agriculture: a review on pest control efficacy, cultivation impacts and enhancement, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 74, 187–228.
Lavina A., Aramburu J., Moriones E. (1996) Occurrence of tomato spotted wilt and cucumber mosaic virus in fieldgrown crops and associated weeds in northeastern Spain, Plant Pathol. 45, 837–842.
Liebman L., Davis A.S. (2000) Integration of soil, crop, and weed management in low-external-input farming systems, Weed Res. 40, 27–47.
Losey J.E., Vaughan M. (2006) The economic value of ecological services provided by insects, BioScience 56, 311–323.
Mace K., Morlon P., Munier-Jolain N.M., Quere L. (2007) Time scales as a factor in decision-making by French farmers on weed management in annual crops, Agric. Syst. 93, 115–142.
Manson R.H., Stiles E.W. (1998) Links between microhabitat preferences and seed predation by small mammals in old fields, Oikos 82, 37–50.
Mantle P.G., Shaw S. (1977) A Case Study of the Aetiology of Ergot Disease of Cereals and Grasses, Plant Pathol. 26, 121–126.
Marshall E.J.P. (2009) The impact of landscape structure and sown grass margin strips on weed assemblages in arable crops and their boundaries, Weed Res. 49, 107–115.
Marshall E.J.P., Arnold G.M. (1995) Factors affecting field weed and field margin flora on a farm in Essex, UK, Landscape Urban Plan. 31, 205–216.
Marshall E.J.P., Brown V.K., Boatman N.D., Lutman P.J.W., Squire G.R., Ward L.K. (2003) The role of weeds in supporting biological diversity within crop fields, Weed Res. 43, 77–89.
Mauchline A.L., Watson S.J., Brown V.K., Froud-Williams R.J. (2005) Post-dispersal seed predation of non target weeds in arable crops, Weed Res. 45, 157–164.
Meiss H., Lagadec L., Munier-Jolain N., Waldhardt R., Petit S. (2010) Weed seed predation increases with vegetation cover in perennial forage crops. Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 38, 10–16.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and human wellbeing: biodiversity synthesis. Washington, DC, World Resources Institute.
McNeely J.A., Scherr S.J. (2003) Ecoagriculture. Washington, Island Press.
Menalled F.D., Marino P.C., Renner K.A., Landis D.A. (2000) Postdispersal weed seed predation in Michigan crop fields as a function of agricultural landscape structure, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 77, 193–202.
Menalled F.D., Smith R.G., Dauer J.T., Fox T.B. (2007) Impact of agricultural management on carabid communities and weed seed predation, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 118, 49–54.
Moonen A.C., Barberi P. (2008) Functional biodiversity: an agroecosystem approach, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 127, 7–21.
Mouron P., Scholz R.W., Nemecek T., Weber O. (2006) Life cycle management on Swiss fruit farms: Relating environmental and income indicators for apple-growing, Ecol. Econ. 58, 561–578.
Navntoft S., Wratten S.D., Kristensen K., Esbjerg P. (2009) Weed seed predation in organic and conventional fields, Biol. Control. 49, 11–16.
Nemecek T., Von Richthofen J.S., Dubois G., Casta P., Charles R., Pahl H. (2008) Environmental impacts of introducing grain legumes into European crop rotations, Eur. J. Agron. 28, 380–393.
Pacha M., Petit S. (2008) The effect of landscape structure and habitat quality on the occurrence of Geranium sylvaticum in fragmented hay meadows, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 123, 81–87.
Pardo G., Riravololona M., Munier-Jolain N.M. (2010) Using a farming system model to evaluate cropping system prototypes: are labour constraints and economic performances hampering the adoption of Integrated Weed Management? Eur. J. Agron. 33, 24–32.
Petit S., Chamberlain D., Haysom K., Pywell R., Allen D., Firbank L. (2003) Knowledge-based models for predicting species occurrence in arable conditions, Ecography 26, 626–640.
Petit S., Firbank L., Wyatt B., Howard D. (2001) MIRABEL: Models for Integrated Review and Assessment of Biodiversity in European Landscapes, Ambio 30, 81–88.
Petit S., Gaba S., Dessaint F., Chauvel B. (2009) Arable weeds in the agro-ecosystem: landscape effects on species richness and diversity at the regional level, in: European Landscapes in Transformation Challenges for Landscape Ecology and Management, European IALE Conference 2009, Salzburg, Austria, pp. 214–216.
Petit S., Griffiths L., Smart S.M., Stuart R.C, Smith G., Wright S. (2004) Effects of area and isolation of woodland patches on plant species richness across Great Britain, Landscape Ecol. 19, 463–471.
Pimentel D.P., Hepperly J., Hanson D., Douds, Seidel R. (2005) Environmental, energetic, and economic comparisons of organic and conventional farming systems, BioScience 55, 573–582.
Saska P., Van der Werf W., De Vries E., Westerman P.R. (2008) Spatial and temporal patterns of carabid activity-density in cereals do not explain levels of weed seed predation, Bull. Entomol. Res. 98, 169–181.
Storkey J. (2006) A functional group approach to the management of UK arable weeds to support biological diversity, Weed Res. 46, 513–522.
Storkey J., Cussans J.W. (2007) Reconciling the conservation of in-field biodiversity with crop production using a simulation model of weed growth and competition, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 122, 173–182.
Storkey J., Westbury D.B. (2007) Managing arable weeds for biodiversity, Pest. Manag. Sci. 63, 517–523.
Sutcliffe O.L., Kay Q.O.N. (2000) Changes in the arable flora of central southern England since the 1960s, Biol. Conserv. 93, 1–8.
Thompson K., Green A., Jewels A.M. (1994) Seeds in soil and worm casts from a neutral grassland, Funct. Ecol. 8, 29–35.
Tooley J., Brust G.E. (2002) Weed seed predation by carabid beetles in: Holland J.M. (Ed.), The Agroecology of Carabid Beetles, Intercept, Andover, pp. 215–229.
Tscharntke T., Klein A.M., Kruess A., Steffan-Dewenter I., Thies C. (2005) Landscape perspectives on agricultural intensification and biodiversity — ecosystem service management, Ecol. Lett. 8, 857–874.
Ulber L., Steinmann H.H., Klimek S., Isselstein J. (2009) An on-farm approach to investigate the impact of diversified crop rotations on weed species richness and composition in winter wheat, Weed Res. 49, 534–543.
Walker K.J., Critchley C.N.R., Sherwood A.J., Large R., Nuttall P., Hulmes S., Rose R., Mountford J.O. (2007) The conservation of arable plants on cereal field margins: an assessment of new agrienvironment scheme options in England, UK, Biol. Conserv. 136, 260–270.
Westerman P.R., Hofman A., Vet L.E.M., Van Der Werf W. (2003) Relative importance of vertebrates and invertebrates in epigeaic weed seed predation in organic cereal fields, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 95, 417–425.
Westerman P., Lieberman M., Menalled F.D., Heggenstaller A.H., Hartzler R.G., Dixon P.M. (2005) Are many little hammers effective? velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) population dynamics in two and four year crop rotation systems, Weed Sci. 53, 382–392.
Wezel A., Bellon S., Doré T., Francis C., Vallod D., David C. (2009) Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review, Agron. Sustain. Dev. 29, 503–515.
White S., Renner K.A., Menalled F.D., Landis D.A. (2007) Feeding Preferences of Weed Seed Predators and Effect on Weed Emergence, Weed Sci. 55, 606–612.
Wilson J.D., Morris A.J., Arroyo B.E., Clack S.C., Bradbury R.B. (1999) A review of the abundance and diversity of invertebrate and plant foods of granivorous birds in northern Europe in relation to agricultural change, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ. 75, 13–30.
Wilson P.J., Aebischer N.J. (1995) The distribution of dicotyledonous arable weeds in relation to distance from the field edge, J. Appl. Ecol. 32, 295–310.
Wisler G.C., Norris R.E. (2005) Interactions between weeds and cultivated plants as related to management of plant pathogens, Weed Sci. 53, 914–917.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Selected article from the International Conference on Weed Biology, Dijon, France, 2009.
About this article
Cite this article
Petit, S., Boursault, A., Le Guilloux, M. et al. Weeds in agricultural landscapes. A review. Agronomy Sust. Developm. 31, 309–317 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1051/agro/2010020
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/agro/2010020