Abstract Strip cropping involves growing multiple crops in adjacent strips in a field, which facilitates existing management routines while promoting ecological interactions. While strip cropping can promote in‐field biodiversity and biological control of insect pests, it is unclear how strip cropping affects in‐field slugs, which can cause considerable crop damage. We selected 20 farms across the Netherlands with paired monoculture and strip cropping fields. The strip cropping fields varied in strip width (3–33 m), number of crop species grown (2–9 crops), and farming system (conventional or organic). We used a combination of shelter and pitfall traps to quantify populations of slugs and their arthropod predators in cereals. Absolute slug abundance was low at most farms, but was 3–5 times higher in strip cropping relative to paired monocultures. Slug abundance in strip cropping increased with increasing strip width. Farming system, cereal type, soil type, or the number of crop species did not mediate the effect of strip cropping on slug abundances. Natural enemy diversity was around 25% higher in strip cropping, and this effect of strip cropping was mediated by cereal type and soil type. Farming system, strip width, or number of crops did not mediate the effect of strip cropping on natural enemy diversity. Most farmers reported similar levels of slug damage in cereals in strip cropping and monoculture. However, some farmers reported increased slug damage in other crops within the strip cropping arrangement, especially at farms with relatively high slug abundances. Synthesis and applications. To avoid increased slug damage in strip cropping fields in slug‐prone areas, potential slug‐source crops should be spatially separated from slug‐sensitive crops. However, an increase in slug abundance should not deter the adoption of strip cropping as higher slug damage in strip cropping systems was rarely observed by farmers.
Croijmans et al. (2026) studied this question.