A recent review led by Dr Alison Scott-Brown from the Epidemiology and Modelling group, University of Cambridge, explores how farmland trees and shrubs can contribute to integrated pest management – potentially helping farmers reduce the impact of chemical use while boosting biodiversity.
The study considers how a wide range of ecological and landscape-level factors could influence the capacity of trees to enhance natural pest control in adjacent crops and improve biodiversity.
The authors used a stakeholder survey of UK experts to identify key knowledge gaps and research priorities around the interactions between trees, beneficial invertebrates (including natural enemies of pests), crop-pests and farm management practices.
The review’s core aim is to explore how integrating farmland trees into integrated pest management (IPM) can support crop resilience and biodiversity.
This aligns with national efforts to expand tree-planting through grants and initiatives, while also identifying priorities for investment in tree-related science to underpin future Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery Schemes.
The review was published in the British Ecological Society journal ‘Ecological Solutions and Evidence’ on 20 August 2025.
Understanding how trees can support pest management
“We wanted to understand how trees could be considered as long-lasting resources for arable farmers, providing habitats and food for natural enemies of crop pests,” said Dr Scott-Brown.
“More often research studies have focused on the benefits that short-term landscape features like wildflower strips provide for pollinators, but less evidence exists on how long-term landscape features like trees could contribute to pest reduction in field-grown crops.”
The research highlights how trees on farms support pest management by reducing pesticide drift and encouraging beneficial insects by offering food, shelter and sites for reproduction.
Farmland trees, in addition to providing resources for beneficial invertebrate natural enemies, can act as sentinels in monitoring pests. These trees can be used as beacons or monitoring tools which can be regularly checked to see if the pest is present in the area.
Using technology to support decision-making
The main barriers preventing trees from being fully integrated into current pest control strategies involve significant gaps in knowledge and practical support.
Farmers and researchers lack specific ecological data on which tree species attract the most effective natural enemies (‘beneficials’) that prey on arable crop pests, or how the layout and management of these trees should be handled for maximum effect.
While the evidence suggests trees bring benefits for pest management, farmers need more information at a local level to implement this effectively.
“The reality is that this is such a broad challenge,” explains Dr Scott-Brown. “Crops change, climate changes, pests change as new species arrive, and landscapes change over time and from region to region,”
One solution could be to harness the power of new technologies to build tools which will help farmers decide which trees to plant and where.
Advances in remote sensing technologies including satellite imagery, aerial photos and drone data, have significantly improved the mapping and management of trees across landscapes in recent years.
“These advanced mapping tools and modelling systems mean we can now assess trees and ecosystem services at field, farm and regional scale, but there’s a significant gap in technologies designed to evaluate interactions between farmland trees and IPM.”
Showcasing best-practice: demonstration farms
Another recommendation from the paper is to use demonstration farms to showcase and further research the benefits of using trees for pest regulation.
Demonstration farms, established through academia–industry partnerships, are important for showcasing sustainable agriculture practices and innovative farming techniques.
“Developing demonstration farms and using these to show where and under what conditions trees provide regulatory pest control benefits to field-grown crops will be essential,” says Dr Scott-Brown.
Promoting the economic and environmental benefits of trees for pest control could lead to farming systems that are more environmentally sustainable and adaptable to climate change. These farms could also be a platform for future research on the role of trees in integrated pest management.
Funding and partners
The study required multidisciplinary evidence, spanning ecology, plant health, socioeconomics, and environmental science and collaboration across agriculture, forestry, conservation, and IPM experts and institutions.
The authors included co-investigators from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Cranfield University, University of Reading, Harper Adams and Royal Agricultural University.
The project was funded by the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Future Proofing Plant Health programme.
Reference: Scott-Brown, A. S. et al., ‘Farmland trees and integrated pest management: A review of current knowledge and developing strategies for sustainable systems’, Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 2005. DOI: 10.1002/2688-8319.70087
Image: Elderflower taken during field work. Photo credit: Alison Scott-Brown.