196wwwwww..ffrroonnttiieerrssiinneeccoollooggyy..oorrgg ©© The Ecological Society of AmericaConservation of beneficial arthropods in agriculturallandscapes is increasingly justified based on the valueof the services they provide to society. The annual valueof natural enemies and native pollinators to agriculturehas recently been estimated at nearly $8 billion in the USalone (Losey and Vaughn 2006). These arthropod-medi-ated ecosystem services (AMES) include biological con-trol of insect pests, worth $4.5 billion, and pollination ofcrops, worth $3.1 billion, each year. Despite the impres-sive economic value of these services, there is widespreadconcern over both the current and future status of benefi-cial arthropods. Farm intensification, urbanization, habi-tat fragmentation, climate change, diseases, and pesti-cides all threaten the services provided to agriculture bythese arthropods (Allen-Wardell et al. 1998; Kremen et al.2002; NRC 2007). Recognition of this situation has stim-ulated investigations around the globe, addressing howbest to conserve and enhance arthropod diversity inintensively managed farmland (Landis et al. 2000; Gurr etal. 2004; Samways 2007; Whittingham 2007). If conservation programs aimed at enhancing agricul-tural sustainability are to deliver the increases in AMESthey are designed to provide, there is an urgent need todetermine how best to manipulate agricultural landscapesto support beneficial arthropods. Coordinating suchefforts so that multiple services are enhanced is expectedto improve the likelihood of adoption by farmers (Gurr etal. 2003; Olson and Wäckers 2007), and quantifying addi-tional benefits for native biodiversity and cultural servicesmay further increase society’s willingness to support suchprograms (Fiedler et al. 2008). Based on our recent find-ings (Fiedler and Landis 2007 a, b; Tuell et al. in press), wepresent a brief synthesis of the role that native floweringplants can play in sustaining pollinators, predators, andparasitoids in agricultural landscapes. We also discuss keyareas of research needed to facilitate the use of nativeplants in conservation programs, with the goal of provid-ing economic benefits to farmers through AMES.Challenges to survival of bees, predators, andparasitoids in farmlandThere have been dramatic changes in most US farm land-scapes over the past 25 years, and these trends areexpected to continue or accelerate in North America andaround the world. Farmland is being encroached upon byurban areas and sold for development (Greene and HarlinREVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWSMaximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystemservices in agricultural landscapes: the roleof native plants RRuuffuuss IIssaaaaccss**,, JJuulliiaannnnaa TTuueellll,, AAnnnnaa FFiieeddlleerr,, MMaarryy GGaarrddiinneerr,, aanndd DDoouugg LLaannddiissBeneficial arthropods, including native bees, predators, and parasitoids, provide valuable ecosystem servicesworth $8 billion to US agriculture each year. These arthropod-mediated ecosystem services (AMES) includecrop pollination and pest control, which help to maintain agricultural productivity and reduce the need forpesticide inputs. Maximizing survival and reproduction of beneficial arthropods requires provision of pollenand nectar resources that are often scarce in modern agricultural landscapes. Increasingly, native plants arebeing evaluated for this purpose. Native plants can outperform recommended non-natives and also providelocal adaptation, habitat permanency, and support of native biodiversity. We predict that the success of insectconservation programs using flowering plants to increase AMES on farmland will depend on landscape con-text, with the greatest success in landscapes of moderate complexity. Reintegration of native plants into agri-cultural landscapes has the potential to support multiple conservation goals, and will require the collabora-tion of researchers, conservation educators, and native plant experts. Front Ecol Environ 2009; 7(4): 196–203, doi:10.1890/080035 (published online 26 Aug 2008)IInn aa nnuuttsshheellll::• Insects and other arthropods provide valuable arthropod-mediated ecosystem services (AMES) in agricultural land-scapes, including pollination and pest control • Beneficial arthropods require access to pollen, nectar, and theshelter provided by flowering plants • The use of native perennial plants to enhance AMES hasmany advantages, including their adaptation to local condi-tions and the restoration of local biodiversity• Development of locally adapted conservation plantings byteams comprised of scientists, entrepreneurs, and educatorswill enhance their adoption in developed and developingcountriesDepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, EastLansing, MI *([email protected])R Isaacs et al. Arthropod-mediated ecosystem services1995), thereby reducing the area available for producingfood or raising livestock. Invasive plant species are limit-ing land suitable for animal pasture (Pimentel et al.2000), and global climate change is expected to furtherdisrupt the links between soils, crops, and climate thathave driven regional crop production practices(Ramankutty et al. 2002). The recent focus on biofuels asa partial solution to dependence on oil in the US(Pimentel and Patzek 2005) shows how land use canquickly change in response to new market opportunitiesor policies. Demand for corn-derived biofuels has causeda rapid increase in land planted to corn in the Midwest(NASS 2007). Gardiner et al. (in press) have shown thatthis change has caused an associated decrease in land-scape diversity, in turn limiting biocontrol services innearby soybean fields. Moreover, these changes areexpected to intensify application of pesticides to cropland,compounding the detrimental effects on beneficial insectsand non-target plants. Together, these changes are causingagricultural landscapes to further diverge from conditionsfavorable to beneficial arthropods and shift toward land-scapes characterized by low structural and floral diversitythat provide limited resources across large areas.Comparisons of insect records from Europe before andafter 1980 indicate that the abundance of bees and syrphidflies has declined, with a concurrent reduction in the abun-dance of out-crossing plant species dependent on specialistbee species (Biesmeijer et al. 2006). This example high-lights the link between trends in beneficial insect popula-tions and the health of plant