Data from: Land consolidation impacts the abundance and richness of natural enemies but not pests in small-holder rice systems

Traditional small-holder agricultural landscapes in southern China are
being consolidated to increase mechanization levels in agriculture, but it
is unclear how this influences rice arthropod communities in these
landscapes. Here, based on a six-year study in 20 rice fields, we
evaluated the impact of land consolidation on arthropod communities, crop
damage, and rice yield. We also analyzed how effects of land consolidation
were moderated by the proportion of large semi-natural habitat patches and
insecticide use. We found that, compared to consolidated fields, rice
fields in traditional farmlands had a higher abundance and family richness
of natural enemies, but a similar abundance of rice pests. Land
consolidation did not significantly interact with the proportion of large
semi-natural habitat patches or insecticide application, in terms of
affecting arthropods. The proportion of semi-natural habitat reduced the
negative effect of insecticide application on key rice pests, but no
equivalent interaction occurred for natural enemies. Syntheses and
Applications: Land consolidation can have negative impacts on the
abundance and richness of natural enemies, but not pests in small-holder
rice systems, and these impacts are independent from insecticide
application and proportion of semi-natural habitat in the landscape. We
recommend the implementation of agri-environmental measures or
re-establishing field margin vegetation during the consolidation process
to mitigate these potential negative effects, although trade-off between
enhancing crop yields and preserving rice arthropod biodiversity should be
considered. We encourage future research to focus on the detailed
assessment of the function of linear habitats for a better understanding
of the impact of land consolidation.