Annals of Applied Biology has traditionally focussed on topics such as plant diseases and physiology, crop production and protection (Leather, 2019). While these remain very much at the core of Annals, it has been encouraging to see an increase in the number of agro-ecology papers published in recent issues. Sustainable agriculture (Levitt, 2021) and sustainable intensification (Nature Editorial, 2020) approaches are moving up the policy agenda, as the dire warnings about biodiversity loss (e.g., Powney et al., 2019) and climate change impacts (e.g., Azevedo, Teklić, & Benavides, 2021; Turney, Ausseil, & Broadhurst, 2020) intensify.

Sustainable agriculture has been defined as ‘a farming practice which maintains yields while increasing environmental goods and benefits’ (Stocks, 2012), while sustainable intensification is an effort to increase crop yields without expanding land use and with fewer inputs (Nature Editorial, 2020). Both require an understanding of the impacts of agriculture on natural resources, ecosystems, habitats and biodiversity (Frontiers Science News, 2018), and require agro-ecological research to underpin them. I am using the opportunity of this editorial to highlight seven agro-ecology and biodiversity papers, which have recently been published in Annals. These cover a range of topics, including agriculture and land management effects on key conservation taxa, on taxa delivering ecosystem services such as pest control and pollination and on habitat restoration and conservation.

Hamza and Hanane (2021) reported on bird diversity in relation to microhabitat features, habitat and anthropogenic pressure in Tunisian olive orchards and oases. Tree cover was identified as a key factor driving bird diversity in these agricultural systems, and it was discussed in relation to the management needed to increase tree cover and the social factors that may affect the outcomes of bird conservation. Marrs et al. (2020) addressed changes in upland vegetation characteristics in response to reduced sheep grazing, a potential outcome of upland rewilding, which has been proposed for some parts of the United Kingdom. They found plant species that are likely to increase in response to reduced grazing pressure have different nutritional, palatability and decomposition characteristics from plant species that dominate in grazed uplands. However, changes in vegetation composition are likely to be extremely slow following a reduction of grazing pressure, potentially 20–60 years depending on the upland habitat.

Two recent papers have considered agro-ecology and predators in the context of pest control. Pompozzi, Marrero, Haedo, Fritz, and Torretta (2019) assessed the contribution of non-cropped habitats for supporting spider populations in Argentina. Non-cropped habitats were found to play an important role in increasing the diversity and abundance of juvenile spiders, and may therefore act as reservoirs of predator populations. Zagorski and Swihart (2020) tested whether raptor predation of pest vole species could be improved in US cover crop systems by using artificial raptor perches. Artificial perches were used by three raptor species (great horned owl, red-tailed hawk and American kestrel), but it was concluded that raptor perch use was unlikely to control vole populations in cover-cropped fields.

Insect pollinators are currently the subject of much research attention, due to their role in pollinating commercially grown fruit and vegetable crops, and decline in the populations of many wild pollinator species (Powney et al., 2019; Senapathi, Goddard, Kunin, & Baldock, 2017). Mosseler, Major, Ostaff, and Ascher (2020) assessed the potential for willows to provide foraging resource for native bee species, early in the season when other food sources may be scarce, in New Brunswick, Canada. They found higher visitation rates of Andrena bees to male compared to female willows, probably due to the production of pollen by male willow trees, and differences in the feeding behaviour of bees on male and female willow trees.

Two recent papers in Annals have tested the effects of abiotic factors on tri-trophic interactions between plants, herbivores and natural enemies. Silva et al. (2021) tested whether sewage sludge fertilisation affected tri-trophic interactions on Acacia trees, which are used to recover degraded habitats in Brazil. The high nitrogen content of dehydrated sewage sludge resulted in increased biomass and food quality in Acacia, which supported larger Hemiptera populations and more tending ants, showing the importance of abiotic factors in structuring insect communities. The combined effects of nutrient supply and climate change can alter interactions between herbivores and natural enemies. Shehzad, Gulzar, Staley, and Tariq (2021) assessed the effects of fertiliser type and drought treatments on two aphid species and their parasitoids on a Brassica crop system in Pakistan. Aphid performance was maximised on plants growing in organic fertiliser under medium levels of drought stress, while parasitoid performance was reduced under high drought stress. These two studies show the potential for change in climate and agricultural practices to affect pest insect species and the natural enemies that feed on them.

The seven papers discussed above show the breadth of agro-ecology and biodiversity papers that are published by Annals, in relation to the topics addressed, the systems and taxa studied (including plants, insects, small mammals and birds) and the geographic span with papers from North and South America, Asia and Europe. These show that the aspirations laid out by our previous Editor-in-Chief, Simon Leather, are being met (Leather, 2019). Going forward, I hope to see more papers in these areas being submitted to Annals, which has recently shown positive increases in a number of journal metrics such as the impact factor. Agro-ecological systems can be complex, and as the effects of climate change intensify, together with ongoing loss of biodiversity and habitat, it is important that multiple factors are considered in studies of agro-ecology. National and international policies often treat climate change and biodiversity loss as separate subjects (Turney et al., 2020). In order to support integrated policies, there is a need for integrated applied research.

Annals of Applied Biology历来侧重于植物病害和生理学、作物生产和保护等主题（Leather，  2019 年）。虽然这些仍然是《年鉴》的核心内容，但看到最近几期发表的农业生态学论文数量有所增加，令人鼓舞。可持续农业（Levitt，  2021 年）和可持续集约化（自然编辑，  2020 年）方法正在提上政策议程，因为关于生物多样性丧失（例如，Powney 等人，  2019 年）和气候变化影响（例如，Azevedo， Teklić 和 Benavides，  2021 年；Turney、Ausseil 和 Broadhurst，  2020 年）加剧。

可持续农业被定义为“一种在增加环境产品和效益的同时保持产量的农业实践”（Stocks，  2012 年），而可持续集约化是在不扩大土地使用和减少投入的情况下提高作物产量的努力（自然社论，  2020 年） . 两者都需要了解农业对自然资源、生态系统、栖息地和生物多样性的影响（前沿科学新闻，  2018 年），并需要农业生态研究来支持它们。我正在利用这篇社论的机会重点介绍最近发表在《年鉴》上的七篇农业生态学和生物多样性论文. 这些涵盖了一系列主题，包括农业和土地管理对关键保护类群的影响，对提供生态系统服务（如害虫控制和授粉）以及栖息地恢复和保护的类群的影响。

Hamza 和 Hanane ( 2021 ) 报告了与突尼斯橄榄园和绿洲的微生境特征、栖息地和人为压力相关的鸟类多样性。树木覆盖被确定为推动这些农业系统中鸟类多样性的关键因素，并就增加树木覆盖所需的管理和可能影响鸟类保护结果的社会因素进行了讨论。马尔斯等人。( 2020) 解决了由于绵羊放牧减少而引起的山地植被特征变化，这是英国某些地区提出的山地野化的潜在结果。他们发现，由于放牧压力降低而可能增加的植物物种与在高地放牧的植物物种具有不同的营养、适口性和分解特征。然而，随着放牧压力的降低，植被组成的变化可能非常缓慢，可能需要 20-60 年，具体取决于高地栖息地。

最近的两篇论文在害虫控制的背景下考虑了农业生态学和捕食者。Pompozzi、Marrero、Haedo、Fritz 和 Torretta（2019 年）评估了非种植栖息地对支持阿根廷蜘蛛种群的贡献。发现非种植栖息地在增加幼蛛的多样性和丰度方面发挥着重要作用，因此可能成为捕食者种群的储存库。扎戈尔斯基和斯威哈特 ( 2020)) 测试是否可以通过使用人工猛禽栖息在美国覆盖作物系统中改善猛禽对害虫田鼠物种的捕食。三种猛禽物种（大角鸮、红尾鹰和美洲红隼）使用人造鲈鱼，但得出的结论是，猛禽鲈鱼不太可能控制覆盖作物田地中的田鼠种群。

昆虫传粉者目前是备受研究关注的主题，因为它们在为商业种植的水果和蔬菜作物授粉以及许多野生传粉者物种种群数量下降方面发挥着重要作用（Powney 等，  2019 年；Senapathi、Goddard、Kunin 和 Baldock ，  2017 年）。Mosseler、Major、Ostaff 和 A​​scher（2020 年）在加拿大新不伦瑞克省评估了柳树为本地蜜蜂物种提供觅食资源的潜力，当时其他食物来源可能稀缺。他们发现，与雌性柳树相比，安德雷纳蜜蜂对雄性蜜蜂的访问率更高，这可能是由于雄性柳树产生花粉，以及蜜蜂在雄性和雌性柳树上的取食行为存在差异。

最近发表在《年鉴》上的两篇论文测试了非生物因素对植物、食草动物和天敌之间三营养相互作用的影响。席尔瓦等人。( 2021 ) 测试了污水污泥施肥是否影响金合欢树的三营养相互作用，金合欢树用于恢复巴西退化的栖息地。脱水污水污泥的高氮含量导致金合欢生物量和食品质量增加，支持更大的半翅目种群和更多的蚂蚁，表明非生物因素在构建昆虫群落中的重要性。营养供应和气候变化的综合影响可以改变食草动物和天敌之间的相互作用。Shehzad、Gulzar、Staley 和 Tariq (2021 年）评估了肥料类型和干旱处理对巴基斯坦芸苔属作物系统中两种蚜虫及其寄生蜂的影响。在中等水平干旱胁迫下，在有机肥中生长的植物中蚜虫的性能最大化，而在高干旱胁迫下，寄生物的性能降低。这两项研究表明，气候和农业实践的变化有可能影响害虫种类和以它们为食的天敌。

上面讨论的七篇论文显示了Annals发表的农业生态学和生物多样性论文的广度，涉及所讨论的主题、研究的系统和分类群（包括植物、昆虫、小型哺乳动物和鸟类）以及论文的地理范围来自北美和南美、亚洲和欧洲。这些表明我们前任主编 Simon Leather 提出的愿望正在得到满足（Leather，  2019 年）。展望未来，我希望看到更多这些领域的论文被提交给Annals，最近在许多期刊指标（例如影响因子）上显示出正增长。农业生态系统可能很复杂，随着气候变化影响的加剧，以及生物多样性和栖息地的持续丧失，在农业生态学研究中考虑多种因素非常重要。国家和国际政策通常将气候变化和生物多样性丧失视为单独的主题（Turney 等，  2020）。为了支持综合政策，需要综合应用研究。