Maurizia Sigura

Maurizia Sigura

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

30Years (1997-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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18 October 2015 in Journal of Applied Ecology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
GTGiovanni Tamburini
Giovanni Tamburini
SSSerena De Simone
Serena De Simone
MSMaurizia Sigura
Maurizia Sigura
Francesco BoscuttiFrancesco Boscutti
Francesco Boscutti
Lorenzo MariLorenzo Mari
Lorenzo Mari
Summary: Biological pest control is a key ecosystem service, and it depends on multiple factors acting from the local to the landscape scale. However, the effects of soil management on biological control and its potential interaction with landscape are still poorly understood. In a field exclusion experiment, we explored the relative effect of tillage system (conservation vs. conventional tillage) on aphid biological control in 15 pairs of winter cereal fields (barley and wheat) selected along a gradient of landscape complexity. We sampled the abundance of the main natural enemy guilds, and we evaluated their relative contribution to aphid predation and parasitism. Conservation tillage was found to support more abundant predator communities and higher aphid predation (16% higher than in the fields managed under conventional tillage). In particular, both the abundance and the aphid predation of vegetation‐ and ground‐dwelling arthropods were increased under conservation tillage conditions. Conservation tillage also increased the parasitism rate of aphids. A high proportion of semi‐natural habitats in the landscape enhanced both aphid parasitism and predation by vegetation‐dwelling organisms but only in the fields managed under conventional tillage. The better local habitat quality provided by conservation tillage may compensate for a low‐quality landscape. Synthesis and applications. Our study stresses the importance of considering both soil management and landscape composition when planning strategies to maximize biological control services in agro‐ecosystems, highlighting the role played by conservation tillage in supporting natural enemy communities. In simple landscapes, the adoption of conservation tillage will locally improve biological control provided by both predators and parasitoids mitigating the negative effects of landscape simplification. Moreover, considering the small scale at which both predation and parasitism responded to landscape composition, a successful strategy to improve biological control would be to establish a fine mosaic of crop and non‐crop areas such as hedgerows, tree lines and small semi‐natural habitat patches.

29 July 2016 in Journal of Applied Ecology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PDF file
MDMatteo Dainese
Matteo Dainese
SMSilvia Montecchiari
Silvia Montecchiari
Tommaso SitziaTommaso Sitzia
Tommaso Sitzia
MSMaurizia Sigura
Maurizia Sigura
Lorenzo MariLorenzo Mari
Lorenzo Mari


1 March 2018 in Landscape and Urban Planning
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
MVMarco Vizzari
Marco Vizzari
MHMohamed Hilal
Mohamed Hilal
MSMaurizia Sigura
Maurizia Sigura
SASara Antognelli
Sara Antognelli
DJDaniel Joly
Daniel Joly

31 August 2016 in Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
GTGiovanni Tamburini
Giovanni Tamburini
SSSerena De Simone
Serena De Simone
MSMaurizia Sigura
Maurizia Sigura
Francesco BoscuttiFrancesco Boscutti
Francesco Boscutti
Lorenzo MariLorenzo Mari
Lorenzo Mari
Agroecosystems are principally managed to maximize food provisioning even if they receive a large array of supporting and regulating ecosystem services (ESs). Hence, comprehensive studies investigating the effects of local management and landscape composition on the provision of and trade-offs between multiple ESs are urgently needed. We explored the effects of conservation tillage, nitrogen fertilization and landscape composition on six ESs (crop production, disease control, soil fertility, water quality regulation, weed and pest control) in winter cereals. Conservation tillage enhanced soil fertility and pest control, decreased water quality regulation and weed control, without affecting crop production and disease control. Fertilization only influenced crop production by increasing grain yield. Landscape intensification reduced the provision of disease and pest control. We also found tillage and landscape composition to interactively affect water quality regulation and weed control. Under N fertilization, conventional tillage resulted in more trade-offs between ESs than conservation tillage. Our results demonstrate that soil management and landscape composition affect the provision of several ESs and that soil management potentially shapes the trade-offs between them.

1 June 1997 in Landscape and Urban Planning
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
PBP Bonfanti
P Bonfanti
AFA Fregonese
A Fregonese
MSMaurizia Sigura
Maurizia Sigura