Empirical studies have shown that particular irrigation/fertilization regimes can reduce pest populations in agroecosystems. This appears to promise that the ecological concept of bottom-up control can be applied to pest management. However, a conceptual framework is necessary to develop a mechanistic basis for empirical evidence. Here, we couple a mechanistic plant growth model with a pest population model. We demonstrate its utility by applying it to the peach–green aphid system. Aphids are herbivores which feed on the plant phloem, deplete plants’ resources and (potentially) transmit viral diseases. The model reproduces system properties observed in field studies and shows under which conditions the diametrically opposed plant vigour and plant stress hypotheses find support. We show that the effect of fertilization/irrigation on the pest population cannot be simply reduced as positive or negative. In fact, the magnitude and direction of any effect depend on the precise level of fertilization/irrigation and on the date of observation. We show that a new synthesis of experimental data can emerge by embedding a mechanistic plant growth model, widely studied in agronomy, in a consumer–resource modelling framework, widely studied in ecology. The future challenge is to use this insight to inform practical decision making by farmers and growers.

中文翻译：

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植物-害虫相互作用的生态生理模型：养分和水的可用性的作用

实证研究表明，特定的灌溉/施肥制度可以减少农业生态系统中的害虫种群。这似乎预示着自下而上控制的生态概念可以应用于害虫管理。然而，需要一个概念框架来为经验证据建立机制基础。在这里，我们将机械植物生长模型与害虫种群模型相结合。我们通过将其应用于桃绿蚜虫系统来证明其效用。蚜虫是食草动物，以植物韧皮部为食，耗尽植物资源并（可能）传播病毒性疾病。该模型再现了在田间研究中观察到的系统特性，并显示了在何种条件下完全相反的植物活力和植物胁迫假设得到支持。我们表明施肥/灌溉对害虫种群的影响不能简单地减少为正面或负面。事实上，任何影响的大小和方向取决于施肥/灌溉的精确水平和观察日期。我们表明，通过将在农学中广泛研究的机械植物生长模型嵌入在生态学中广泛研究的消费者资源建模框架中，可以出现新的实验数据综合。未来的挑战是利用这种洞察力为农民和种植者的实际决策提供信息。我们表明，通过将在农学中广泛研究的机械植物生长模型嵌入在生态学中广泛研究的消费者资源建模框架中，可以出现新的实验数据综合。未来的挑战是利用这种洞察力为农民和种植者的实际决策提供信息。我们表明，通过将在农学中广泛研究的机械植物生长模型嵌入在生态学中广泛研究的消费者资源建模框架中，可以出现新的实验数据综合。未来的挑战是利用这种洞察力为农民和种植者的实际决策提供信息。