Characterization of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) population dynamics in relation to landscape attributes

Abstract 1 The western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Leconte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), creates economic and environmental concerns in the Corn Belt region of the U.S.A. To supplement the population control tactics of the Areawide Pest Management Program in Brookings, South Dakota, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were used to examine the spatial relationships from 1997 to 2001 between WCR population dynamics, habitat structure, soil texture and elevation. 2 Using the inverse distance weighted interpolation technique, WCR population density maps were created from georeferenced emergence and post‐emergence traps placed in maize fields. For each year, these maps were overlaid with vegetation, soil and elevation maps to search for quantitative relationships. 3 Through visual interpretation and correlation analysis, shifts in landscape structure, such as size, number and arrangement of patches, were shown to associate with WCR population abundance and distribution in varying degrees. Contingency analysis showed that WCR population abundance is associated with soil texture and elevation. 4 An understanding of the interactions between WCR population dynamics and landscape variables provides information to pest managers, and this can be used to identify patterns in the landscape that promote high insect population density patches to improve pest management strategies.     

Do species population parameters and landscape characteristics affect the relationship between local population abundance and surrounding habitat amount?

In landscape ecology, correlational approaches are typically used to analyse links between local population abundance, and the surrounding habitat amount to estimate biologically-relevant landscape size (extent) for managing endangered or pest populations. The direction, strength, and spatial extent of the correlations are then sometimes interpreted in terms of species population parameters. Here we simulated the population dynamics of generalized species across spatially explicit landscapes that included two distinct habitat types. We investigated how characteristics of a landscape (structure), including the variation in habitat quality and spatial aggregation of the habitat, and the precise population-dynamic properties of the simulated species (dispersal and growth rates) affect the correlation between population abundance and amount of surrounding favourable habitat in the landscape. To evaluate these spatial extents of correlation, proportions of favourable habitat were calculated within several circles of increasing diameter centred on sampling patches of favourable habitat where population abundance was recorded.We found that the value of the correlation coefficients between population abundance and amount of surrounding favourable habitat depended on both population dynamic parameters and landscape characteristics. Coefficients of correlation increased with the variation in habitat quality and the aggregation of favourable habitat in the landscape, but decreased with the dispersal distance. The distance at which the correlation was maximized was sensitive to an interaction between the level of aggregation of the habitat and the dispersal distance; whereas the greatest distance at which a significant correlation occurred was more sensitive to the variation in habitat quality. Our results corroborate the view that correlational analyses do provide information on the local population dynamics of a species in a given habitat type and on its dispersal rate parameters. However, even in simplified, model frameworks, direct relationships are often difficult to disentangle and global landscape characteristics should be reported in any studies intended to derive population-dynamic parameters from correlations. Where possible, replicated landscapes should be examined in order to control for the interaction between population dynamics and landscape structure. Finally, we recommend using species-specific, population-dynamic modelling in order to interpret correctly the observed patterns of correlation in the landscape.     

Relationships between urban open spaces and humans’ health benefits from an ecological perspective: a study in an urban campus

The rapid increase in urban population worldwide is one among the important global environmental issues. The urban ecological system is made up of human society and environments. We cannot exclude humans from the urban ecosystem since humans are an integral component of landscape ecology. Bridging humans and landscape ecology is important to sustainable landscape planning and management from a holistic point of view. Humans’ responses to landscape structure are crucial to understand the relationships between humans and nature. In current study, we conducted a field experiment in an urban campus to investigate the relationships between urban open spaces and humans’ health benefits. The landscape structure of urban open spaces were derived from land cover maps. The results show that people’s psycho-physiological responses are correlated with selected landscape metrics of different land cover types. Overall, dense trees and large artificial structures likely have negative effects on humans, while large continuous grassland patches or water patches enhance humans’ positive responses. The findings give some insights into the design and management of urban open spaces that are favorable for ecosystems and the health of urban population. The methodology taken to investigate the relationships between landscape structure and human health in this study may be of value to future efforts in establishing healthy and sustainable urban environments.     

Scale-dependent relationships between landscape structure and microclimate

This paper examined the scale-dependent relationships between landscape structure (e.g., slope, elevation, and overstory canopy coverage) and microclimate (e.g., air and soil temperatures and soil moisture) at different spatial scales along a 10050 m transect in the Southeastern Missouri Ozarks, USA. The landscape structure and microclimate variables were measured every 10 m along the transect during the growing season, June to September, 1996. We used the simple correlation analysis and "moving window" technique (no overlap between two adjacent windows) to examine the correlation coefficients between landscape structure and microclimate variables at scales or window sizes from 10 m to 2000 m. Because the sample size decreased rapidly in the "moving window" method, we also used the standardized cross-variogram to investigate the relationships between landscape structure and microclimate variables at a larger range of scales from 10 m to 8000 m. We found that the relationships between landscape structure and microclimate were apparently scale-dependent along the transect, suggesting the interactions between landscape structure and microclimate were stronger at some scales than others. The landscape structure variables were poor in explaining the variation of each microclimate variable at fine scales (e.g., 10 m). The correlations between elevation and microclimate variables were, in general, significantly improved with the increase of scales, while the improvement was less significant for slope and canopy coverage. Of the landscape structure variables, elevation, in general, had a higher correlation with the microclimate variables than slope and overstory canopy coverage at most scales examined. Our results suggest that small scales (e.g., < 100 m) are not suitable to study the relationships/interactions between landscape structure and microclimate and larger scales (e.g., > 500 m) are more appropriate though the relationships vary at the larger scales. Both the simple correlation analysis and standardized cross-variogram analysis were effective and, in general, consistent in characterizing the scale-dependent relationships between landscape structure and microclimate. Meanwhile, the standardized cross-variogram had the advantage to examine the relationships at large scales over the correlation analysis because the sample size reduced rapidly in the correlation analysis.     

Genetic structure of the forest herb Primula elatior in a changing landscape

To investigate whether changes in land use and associated forest patch turnover affected genetic diversity and structure of the forest herb Primula elatior, historical data on landscape changes were combined with a population genetic analysis using dominant amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Based on nine topographic maps, landscape history was reconstructed and forest patches were assigned to two age classes: young (less than 35 years) and old (more than 35 years). The level of differentiation among Primula populations in recently established patches was compared with the level of differentiation among populations in older patches. Genetic diversity was independent of population size (P > 0.05). Most genetic variation was present within populations. Within-population diversity levels tended to be higher for populations located in older forests compared with those for populations located in young forests (Hj = 0.297 and 0.285, respectively). Total gene diversity was also higher for old than for young populations (Ht = 0.2987 and 0.2828, respectively). The global fixation index FST averaged over loci was low, but significant. Populations in older patches were significantly more differentiated from each other than were populations in recently established patches and they showed significant isolation by distance. In contrast, no significant correlations between pairwise geographical distance and FST were found for populations in recently established patches. The location of young and old populations in the studied system and altered gene flow because of increased population density and decreased inter-patch distances between extant populations may explain the observed lower genetic differentiation in the younger populations. This study exemplifies the importance of incorporating data on historical landscape changes in population genetic research at the landscape scale.     

A graph-based approach to investigating the influence of the landscape on population spread processes

Modelling of landscape connectivity is a key point in the study of the movement of populations within a given landscape. For studies focused on the preservation of biodiversity, graph-based methods provide an interesting framework to investigate the landscape influence on population spread processes. Such an approach is described here, based on the mapping of landscape categories in habitat patches, including a diachronic data set describing the population spread within the habitat patches. A minimum planar graph was built by computing spatial distances between all pairs of neighbouring patches. From this structure, two types of analysis are proposed: one focused on the links of the graph and consists in correlating spatial distances and gap indicators computed from the diachronic data. The other was based on the correlations between population data and connectivity metrics at the patch level. As an example, this approach was applied to the spread of the fossorial water vole on the Jura plateau (France), with annual population data covering eleven years from 1989 to 2000. Link analysis allowed to find an optimal set of resistance values used in the least-cost distances computations, and thus to build a relevant graph. From this graph, patch analysis displayed a cyclic correlation between a metric based on potential dispersal flux and the population density, outlining the strong role of landscape connectivity in the population spread. The present study clearly shows that landscape modelling and graph-based approach can produce parameters which are consistent with field observations and thus pave the way to simulating the effect of landscape modification on population dynamics.     

Regional and local scale metapopulation dynamics in the interaction between Callosobruchus maculatus and Anisopteromalus calandrae

Habitat structure increases the persistence of many extinction‐prone resource–consumer interactions. Metapopulation theory is one of the leading approaches currently used to explain why local, ephemeral populations persist at a regional scale. Central to the metapopulation concept is the amount of dispersal occurring between patches, too much or too little can result in regional extinction. In this study, the role of dispersal on the metapopulation dynamics of an over‐exploitative host–parasitoid interaction is assessed. In the absence of the parasitoid the highly vagile bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus, can maintain a similar population size regardless of the permeability of the inter‐patch matrix and exhibits strong negative density‐dependence. After the introduction of the parasitoid the size of the bruchid population decreases with a corresponding increase in the occurrence of empty patches. In this case, limiting the dispersal of both species decouples the interaction to a greater extent and results in larger regional bruchid populations. Given the disparity between the dispersal rates of the two species, it is proposed that the more dispersive host benefits from the reduction in landscape permeability by increasing the opportunity to colonise empty patches and rescue extinction prone populations. Associated with the introduction of the parasitoid is a shift in the strength of density‐dependence as the population moves from bottom–up towards top–down regulation. The importance of local and regional scale measurements is apparent when the role of individual patches on regional dynamics is considered. By only taking regional dynamics into account the importance of dispersal regime on local dynamics is overlooked. Similarly, when local dynamics were examined, patches were found to have different influences on regional dynamics depending on dispersal regime and patch location.     

Spatio‐temporal analysis of the relationship between landscape structure and the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae)

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Spatial metrics for detecting ecosystem degradation in the ridge-slough patterned landscape

Indicators of landscape condition should be selected based on their sensitivity to environmental changes and their capacity to provide early warning detection of those changes. We assessed the performance of a suite of spatial-pattern metrics selected to quantify the condition of the ridge-slough landscape in the Everglades (South Florida, USA). Spatial pattern metrics (n = 14) that describe landscape composition, geometry and hydrologic connectivity were enumerated from vegetation maps of twenty-five 2 × 2 km primary sampling units (PSUs) that span a gradient of hydrologic and ecological condition across the greater Everglades ecosystem. Metrics were assessed in comparison with field measurements from each PSU of landscape condition obtained from regional surveys of soil elevation, which have previously been shown to capture dramatic differences between conserved and degraded locations. Elevation-based measures of landscape condition included soil elevation bi-modality (BI_SE), a binary measure of landscape condition, and also the standard deviation of soil elevation (SD_SE), a continuous measure of condition. Metric performance was assessed based on the strength (sensitivity) and shape (leading vs. lagging) of the relationship between spatial pattern metrics and these elevation-based measures. We observed significant logistic regression slopes with BI_SE for only 4 metrics (slough width, ridge density, directional connectivity index – DCI, and least flow cost – LFC). More significant relationships (n = 8 metrics) were observed with SD_SE, with the strongest associations for slough density, mean ridge width, and the average length of straight flow, as well as for a suite of hydrologic connectivity metrics (DCI, LFC and landscape discharge competence – LDC). Leading vs. lagging performance, inferred from the curvature of the association obtained from the exponent of fitted power functions, suggest that only DCI was a leading metric of the loss of soil elevation variation; most metrics were indeterminate, though some were clearly lagging. Our findings support the contention that soil elevation changes from altered peat accretion dynamics precede changes in landscape pattern, and offer insights that will enable efficient monitoring of the ridge-slough landscape as part of the ongoing Everglades restoration effort.     

Factors Controlling Soil Microbial Biomass and Bacterial Diversity and Community Composition in a Cold Desert Ecosystem: Role of Geographic Scale

Understanding controls over the distribution of soil bacteria is a fundamental step toward describing soil ecosystems, understanding their functional capabilities, and predicting their responses to environmental change. This study investigated the controls on the biomass, species richness, and community structure and composition of soil bacterial communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, at local and regional scales. The goals of the study were to describe the relationships between abiotic characteristics and soil bacteria in this unique, microbially dominated environment, and to test the scale dependence of these relationships in a low complexity ecosystem. Samples were collected from dry mineral soils associated with snow patches, which are a significant source of water in this desert environment, at six sites located in the major basins of the Taylor and Wright Valleys. Samples were analyzed for a suite of characteristics including soil moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, soil organic matter, major nutrients and ions, microbial biomass, 16 S rRNA gene richness, and bacterial community structure and composition. Snow patches created local biogeochemical gradients while inter-basin comparisons encompassed landscape scale gradients enabling comparisons of microbial controls at two distinct spatial scales. At the organic carbon rich, mesic, low elevation sites Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria were prevalent, while Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were dominant at the high elevation, low moisture and biomass sites. Microbial parameters were significantly related with soil water content and edaphic characteristics including soil pH, organic matter, and sulfate. However, the magnitude and even the direction of these relationships varied across basins and the application of mixed effects models revealed evidence of significant contextual effects at local and regional scales. The results highlight the importance of the geographic scale of sampling when determining the controls on soil microbial community characteristics.     

Viability analyses with habitat-based metapopulation models

Population viability analysis (PVA) models incorporate spatial dynamics in different ways. At one extreme are the occupancy models that are based on the number of occupied populations. The simplest occupancy models ignore the location of populations. At the other extreme are individual-based models, which describe the spatial structure with the location of each individual in the population, or the location of territories or home ranges. In between these are spatially structured metapopulation models that describe the dynamics of each population with structured demographic models and incorporate spatial dynamics by modeling dispersal and temporal correlation among populations. Both dispersal and correlation between each pair of populations depend on the location of the populations, making these models spatially structured. In this article, I describe a method that expands spatially structured metapopulation models by incorporating information about habitat relationships of the species and the characteristics of the landscape in which the metapopulation exists. This method uses a habitat suitability map to determine the spatial structure of the metapopulation, including the number, size, and location of habitat patches in which subpopulations of the metapopulation live. The habitat suitability map can be calculated in a number of different ways, including statistical analyses (such as logistic regression) that find the relationship between the occurrence (or, density) of the species and independent variables which describe its habitat requirements. The habitat suitability map is then used to calculate the spatial structure of the metapopulation, based on species-specific characteristics such as the home range size, dispersal distance, and minimum habitat suitability for reproduction. Received: April 1, 1999 / Accepted: October 29, 1999     

Host-parasitoid spatial ecology: a plea for a landscape-level synthesis

A growing body of literature points to a large-scale research approach as essential for understanding population and community ecology. Many of our advances regarding the spatial ecology of predators and prey can be attributed to research with insect parasitoids and their hosts. In this review, we focus on the progress that has been made in the study of the movement and population dynamics of hosts and their parasitoids in heterogeneous landscapes, and how this research approach may be beneficial to pest management programs. To date, few studies have quantified prey and predator rates and ranges of dispersal and population dynamics at the patch level--the minimum of information needed to characterize population structure. From host-parasitoid studies with sufficient data, it is clear that the spatial scale of dispersal can differ significantly between a prey and its predators, local prey extinctions can be attributed to predators and predator extinction risk at the patch level often exceeds that of the prey. It is also evident that populations can be organized as a single, highly connected (patchy) population or as semi-independent extinction-prone local populations that collectively form a persistent metapopulation. A prey and its predators can also differ in population structure. At the landscape level, agricultural studies indicate that predator effects on its prey often spill over between the crop and surrounding area (matrix) and can depend strongly on landscape structure (e.g. the proportion of suitable habitat) at scales extending well beyond the crop margins. In light of existing empirical data, predator-prey models are typically spatially unrealistic, lacking important details on boundary responses and movement behaviour within and among patches. The tools exist for conducting empirical and theoretical research at the landscape level and we hope that this review calls attention to fertile areas for future exploration.     

Hotspot and relationship identification in multiple landscape services: A case study on an area with intensive human activities

The identification of the relationships between different landscape services is important in social–ecological complex systems, especially in areas with intensive human activities. In this paper, Beijing and its peripheral regions are taken as a case study to calculate and map the intensities of five classic landscape services including material production, carbon storage, soil retention, habitat conservation, and population support based on grid maps. Overlap and correlation analyses were used to identify multiple service hotspots and the relationships between landscape services. The results show that (1) landscape services have spatial heterogeneity: high-intensity area of material production and population support is on the southeast plains of this region and high-intensity area of soil retention and habitat conservation is on the northwest; (2) approximately 96.03% of the region can provide at least one type of landscape services, whereas approximately three-quarters of the area provide multiple services, with the multiple service hotspots surrounding Beijing and Tianjin; (3) correlations exist between all pairs of landscape services, but strong correlations (correlation coefficient >0.5 or <−0.5) exist between four pairs, which are soil retention and habitat conservation (0.672), soil retention and population support (−0.613), habitat conservation and population support (−0.540), and material production and population support (0.529); (4) the services can be divided into two trade-off service bundles: the “natural” bundle, which contains carbon storage, soil retention, and habitat conservation, and the “artificial” bundle, which contains material production and population support. Only 4.19% of the area in this region contains these service bundles simultaneously. Finally, an improved understanding of the relationships between services was illustrated, and the importance of such services was highlighted for decision-makers and stakeholders.     

Contracting Tasmanian montane grasslands within a forest matrix is consistent with cessation of Aboriginal fire management

The persistence of treeless grasslands and sedgelands within a matrix of eucalypt and rainforest vegetation in the montane plateaux of northern Tasmania has long puzzled ecologists. Historical sources suggest that Tasmanian Aborigines were burning these treeless patches and models seeking to explain their maintenance generally include fire, soil properties and Aboriginal landscape burning. We aimed to provide a new historical perspective of the dynamics of the vegetation mosaics of Surrey Hills and Paradise Plains in north‐west and north‐east Tasmania, respectively, and used vegetation surveys and soil sampling to explore the role of vegetation and soils in these dynamics. Sequences of historical maps (1832 and 1903) and aerial photography showed that many treeless patches have persisted in the landscape since European settlement and that forests have rapidly expanded into the treeless patches since the early 1950s. Stand structure and floristic data described an expanding forest dominated by Leptospermum, which is consistent with vegetation succession models for the region. Soils under expanding forest boundaries did not have higher soil nitrogen or phosphorus than those under stable boundaries, signalling a lack of edaphic limitation to forest expansion. The magnitude of forest expansion at Paradise Plains (granite), Surrey Hills (basalt) and south‐west Tasmania (quartzite) appears to follow a nutrient availability gradient and this hypothesis is backed by differences in soil phosphorus capital between the three systems. Given that existing vegetation boundaries in northern Tasmania do not coincide with soil nutrient gradients, we suggest that treeless vegetation was maintained by Aboriginal landscape burning and that the recent contraction of treeless vegetation is related to the breakdown of these fire regimes following European settlement. The observed rates of forest expansion could result in a substantial loss of these grasslands if sustained through this century and therefore our work supports the continuation of prescribed burning to maintain this high conservation value ecosystem.     

Relationships between landscape patterns and species richness of trees,shrubs and vines in a tropical forest

The present study aims to identify and characterize the relationships among landscape structure and plant diversity in a tropical landscape forest in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Total species richness as well as that of trees, shrubs and vines species were identified from 141 sampling quadrats (16,543 individuals sampled). Based on vegetation classes obtained from multi-spectral satellite image classification, I constructed plant diversity maps of the landscape under study using stratified kriging. I calculated the mean number of species in individual patches as the average values of kriging estimates inside of each patch. I then explored the relationships between landscape pattern metrics and the species richness of trees, shrubs and vines, as well as all groups combined using regression analysis. I employed Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to select a set of candidate models. Based on akaike weights, I calculated model-averaged parameters. Results show that plant diversity of the patches depends on both the quality of the surrounding habitats and the proximity of surrounding patches (i.e., patch isolation).     

Population consequences of movement decisions in a patchy landscape

Complex, human‐dominated landscapes provide unique challenges to animals. In landscapes fragmented by human activity, species whose home ranges ordinarily consist of continuous habitat in pristine environments may be forced to forage among multiple smaller habitat patches embedded in an inhospitable environment. Furthermore, foragers often must decide whether to traverse a heterogeneous suite of landscape elements that differ in risk of predation or energetic costs. We modeled population consequences of foraging decisions for animals occupying patches embedded in a heterogeneous landscape. In our simulations, animals were allowed to use three different rules for moving between patches: a) optimal selection resulting from always choosing the least‐cost path; b) random selection of a movement path; and c) probabilistic selection in which path choice was proportional to an animal's probability of survival while traversing the path. The resulting distribution of the population throughout the landscape was dependent on the movement rule used. Least‐cost movement rules (a) produced landscapes that contained the highest average density of consumers per patch. However, optimal movement resulted in an all‐or‐none pattern of occupancy and a coupling of occupied patches into pairs that effectively reduced the population to a set of sub‐populations. Random and probabilistic rules, (b and c), in relatively safe landscapes produced similar average densities and 100% occupancy of patches. However, as the level of risk associated with travel between patches increased, random movement resulted in an all‐or‐none occupancy pattern while occupied patches in probabilistic populations went extinct independently of the other patches. Our results demonstrate strong effects of inter‐patch heterogeneity and movement decisions on population dynamics, and suggest that models investigating the persistence of species in complex landscapes should take into account the effects of the intervening landscape on behavioral decisions affecting animal movements between patches.     

The use of spatial concepts as a basis for designing a viable-habitat network: Conserving redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) populations in Sherwood Forest, England

This paper presents a method for the design of a habitat network in a fragmented landscape. It employs metapopulation dynamics and connectivity to develop spatial rules which, together with the requirements of a target species, can be used to guide the creation of a network to improve population persistence. Using these guidelines, two conservation strategies of patch enlargement and corridor creation are developed. The spatial models used to produce the habitat network are described. The resulting maps show the network consisting of the source patches that could be occupied by stable populations and a number of patches, which could support viable local populations, situated in the proximity of the sources or linked to them. The approach could be used to inform decision-making in nature conservation and landscape planning.     

黄土区农业景观空间格局分析

景观空间格局分析是景观生态学研究的核心问题之一。本文用地理信息系统,分维分析和统计分析相结合,以１∶１万土地利用现状图为基础,选取斑块大小、分维数、斑块伸长指数、多样性、优势度、相对丰富度、破碎度等指标,陕北米脂县泉家沟流域农业景观的空间格局。结果显示,乔木林地、坡耕地、果园、草地和梯田农地的分维数较低,坝地、水库、灌溉农田、居信用地和灌木林地的人维数较高,斑块形状较为复杂。随着斑块面积的增加,农     

生物结皮分布格局对坡面流水动力特征的影响

生物结皮的分布格局是影响坡面产流产沙的因素之一,但其格局对侵蚀动力的影响机理尚不明确,妨碍了进一步解析生物结皮影响坡面产流产沙的机制。本研究通过室内模拟降雨试验,采用景观生态学方法,对带状、棋盘和随机3种分布格局下生物结皮坡面景观指数和水力学参数的变化规律与裸土坡面进行对比研究。结果表明: 生物结皮显著影响坡面侵蚀动力,其分布格局是影响坡面侵蚀动力的因素之一。与裸土相比,生物结皮显著降低了坡面流速(54.6%)和弗劳德数(67.0%),显著增加了径流深(86.2%)和阻力系数(10.68倍),但对雷诺数和径流功率的影响较小;除径流深外,3种格局的生物结皮坡面的各水力学参数均存在显著差异,其中,随机格局对坡面侵蚀动力的影响最大。基于因子分析和聚类分析,筛选出斑块占景观面积比例、斑块密度、景观形状指数、斑块连结度和分离度5个指标作为描述生物结皮斑块分布特征的指标。其中,生物结皮斑块间的斑块连结度和分离度是影响坡面侵蚀动力的主要格局因子。随着生物结皮斑块间斑块连结度减小、分离度增大,坡面流速增加,阻力减小,坡面侵蚀加剧。     

More pests but less pesticide applications: Ambivalent effect of landscape complexity on conservation biological control

In agricultural landscapes, the amount and organization of crops and semi-natural habitats (SNH) have the potential to promote a bundle of ecosystem services due to their influence on ecological community at multiple spatio-temporal scales. SNH are relatively undisturbed and are often source of complementary resources and refuges, therefore supporting more diverse and abundant natural pest enemies. However, the nexus of SNH proportion and organization with pest suppression is not trivial. It is thus crucial to understand how the behavior of pest and natural enemy species, the underlying landscape structure, and their interaction, may influence conservation biological control (CBC). Here, we develop a generative stochastic landscape model to simulate realistic agricultural landscape compositions and configurations of fields and linear elements. Generated landscapes are used as spatial support over which we simulate a spatially explicit predator-prey dynamic model. We find that increased SNH presence boosts predator populations by sustaining high predator density that regulates and keeps pest density below the pesticide application threshold. However, predator presence over all the landscape helps to stabilize the pest population by keeping it under this threshold, which tends to increase pest density at the landscape scale. In addition, the joint effect of SNH presence and predator dispersal ability among hedge and field interface results in a stronger pest regulation, which also limits pest growth. Considering properties of both fields and linear elements, such as local structure and geometric features, provides deeper insights for pest regulation; for example, hedge presence at crop field boundaries clearly strengthens CBC. Our results highlight that the integration of species behaviors and traits with landscape structure at multiple scales is necessary to provide useful insights for CBC.