Organic farming is an essential component of sustainable agriculture that can help maintain biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, providing benefits for both human well-being and environmental conservation. Recent studies have highlighted the vital role of insectivorous bats in farmland ecosystems in controlling pest insect populations. Our research focuses on the direct economic value of bat insectivory in woody crops, specifically in apple orchards affected by the codling moth . We conducted an exclusion experiment followed by an economic evaluation to estimate the impact of bat insectivory on crop damage and economic savings. Our results demonstrate that the presence of bats in apple orchards can significantly reduce the damage caused by , resulting in a 32.1% reduction in affected apple trees and a 50% reduction in the total weight of damaged apples per tree. This translates to estimated economic savings of 551 €/ha/y by reducing the need for insecticide applications and, consequently, minimizing the negative impacts of such chemicals on the environment and human health. Moreover, the presence of bats can lead to higher crop yields and protect the quality of the product, resulting in higher profits for farmers. Our findings highlight the critical role of bats in maintaining ecosystem services and provide valuable information for the sustainable management of farmland ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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每天一只蝙蝠，害虫远离：蝙蝠为有机苹果园提供宝贵的防害虫保护

有机农业是可持续农业的重要组成部分，有助于维持农业景观的生物多样性，为人类福祉和环境保护带来好处。最近的研究强调了农田生态系统中食虫蝙蝠在控制害虫种群方面的重要作用。我们的研究重点是蝙蝠食虫对木本作物的直接经济价值，特别是受苹果蠹蛾影响的苹果园。我们进行了排除实验，然后进行了经济评估，以估计蝙蝠食虫对农作物损害和经济节约的影响。我们的结果表明，苹果园中蝙蝠的存在可以显着减少苹果树造成的损害，导致受影响的苹果树减少 32.1%，每棵树受损苹果的总重量减少 50%。通过减少杀虫剂施用的需求，从而最大限度地减少此类化学品对环境和人类健康的负面影响，预计可节省 551 欧元/公顷/年的经济成本。此外，蝙蝠的存在可以提高农作物产量并保护产品质量，从而为农民带来更高的利润。我们的研究结果强调了蝙蝠在维持生态系统服务方面的关键作用，并为农田生态系统的可持续管理提供了有价值的信息。