What is a key pest-management benefit of revegetation?

• A. Maintenance of a healthy, competitive grass cover reduces reinfestation and spread.
• B. Increasing bare soil to expose pests.
• C. Relying on broad-spectrum pesticides alone.
• D. Planting only a single weed species to distract pests.

Answer: (D)

Revegetation creates a dense, competitive plant community that makes it harder for pests to reestablish and spread. When grasses and forbs form a robust cover, they outcompete weeds and potential pest hosts, reduce bare ground that can harbor pests, and create a habitat that supports natural enemies like predators and parasitoids. This combination of crowding out pests and boosting biological control lowers reinfestation risk and pest movement across the landscape.

The other ideas don’t provide the same protection: exposing bare soil can increase pest establishment; relying only on broad-spectrum pesticides bypasses ecological controls; and planting just one weed species fails to create the diverse, competitive environment that helps suppress pests. Therefore, a healthy, competitive grass cover is the key pest-management benefit of revegetation.