Abstract. Land use influences the abundance and diversity of soil arthropods. The evaluation of the impact of different management strategies on soil quality is increasingly sought, and the determination of community structures of edaphic fauna can represent an efficient tool. In the area of Langhe (Piedmont, Italy), eight vineyards characterized for physical and chemical properties (soil texture, soil pH, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, calcium carbonate) were selected. We evaluated the effect of two types of crop management, organic and integrated pest management (IPM), on abundance and biodiversity of microarthropods living at the soil surface. Soil sampling was carried out in winter 2011 and spring 2012. All specimens were counted and determined up to the order level. The biodiversity analysis was performed using ecological indexes (taxa richness, dominance, Shannon-Wiener, Buzas and Gibson's evenness, Margalef, equitability, Berger-Parker), and the biological soil quality was assessed with the BSQ-ar index.The mesofauna abundance was affected by both the type of management and sampling time. On the whole, a higher abundance was in organic vineyards (N = 1981) than in IPM ones (N = 1062). The analysis performed by ecological indexes showed quite a high level of biodiversity in this environment, particularly in May 2012. Furthermore, the BSQ-ar values registered were similar to those obtained in preserved soils.

Agricultural and industrial waste represent valuable starting materials to create novel products with economic value added. Winery industry represents an important economic sector in Italy, which produces tons of by-products every year. Global warming and the increasing demand for food and feed led us to analyse the nutraceutical properties of distillery by-products as possible supplements to feed Tenebrio molitor larvae (TML). Grape pomace (GP) and grape marcs (GM), grape skin pulp, grape seeds and winery waste sludge were analysed for their antioxidant activity and fatty acid (FA) profile. Even if subjected to multiple processing, by-products had an important content of antioxidant compounds, in particular polyphenols, flavonols, flavonoids and condensed tannins. Moreover, the high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the low percentage of saturated fatty acids found make them useful feed supplements. Herein has been disclosed that their use as TML feed material was well tolerated over TML development, with a significant mean weight gain respect to control of about 25% and no effect on survival rate. Interestingly, total antioxidant activity and FA profile ameliorate significantly, suggesting that distillery by-products can be used to extend the shelf-life of TML and ameliorate their nutraceutical properties, with possible application in controlled dietary regimens. This work confirmed that by-products largely produced in Europe can be used as TML feed materials, simplifying waste management and reducing rearing costs.

Circular economy principles aim to maintain resources in the economic circle. Accordingly, the use of agricultural waste and its transformation into novel products is a smart approach that creates benefits for the environment, industries and consumers. Herein, we conjugated the principles of circular economy with the search for novel sustainable functional foods, transforming agricultural food chain by-products into feed supplements for Tenebrio molitor larvae (TML) feeding. Accordingly, tomato peels and seeds (TPS) stemming from the tomato sauce production, as well as olive (Olea europaea) and mastic (Pistacia lentiscus) leaves (OEL and PLL) from pruning were finely pulverised and used as feed supplements. All the diet supplements efficiently supported larval growth, offering optimal values of larvae mean body weight and survival rate. Interestingly, both total phenol content and antioxidant activities increased compared to the control, thanks to the accumulation of active compounds with hydrophilic or lipophilic characteristics. In addition, the fatty acids composition was determined, revealing a beneficial reduction of omega-6 (n-6)/omega-3 (n-3) ratio. Taken together, our results strongly support TPS, OEL and PLL use as smart breeding supplements, able to increase the antioxidant activity and ameliorate fatty acid profile of TML with important applications in human and animal nutrition.

Edible insects are generally reared on agricultural product-based diets. These feeding substrates may contain pesticides or toxins that are derived from field practices for plant growth and defence and that may represent a health risk to insect consumers. The present study investigated Tenebrio molitor capability to uptake from contaminated substrates three chemical compounds that are employed in agricultural practices: the insecticide deltamethrin (DELTA), the fungicide tebuconazole (TEB) and the plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride (CCC), all with different properties of lipophilicity and potentially harmful for human and animal health. Newly optimised and validated LC-MS/MS methods have been used for the quantification of pesticide residues in larvae samples. Analysis showed that DELTA and TEB are retained by larvae, even after 24 h of fasting, due to their lipophilicity. Larvae fasting period allowed the elimination of 47% of DELTA residues and 78% of TEB ones. Diversely, CCC, the most hydrophilic chemical compound, was completely eliminated after the fasting. The toxicity of pesticides to larvae has been also investigated. The highest mortality of T. molitor larvae (close to 50%) was recorded for the insecticide DELTA, at the dose of 20 mg/kg and for CCC (15%) at the concentration of 4 mg/kg. The safety of insects as food and feed represents an important section in the field of the control of food of animal origin and animal health. Nevertheless, to date, this aspect is not yet completely determined due to the lack of scientific data in this area. By assessing the accumulation rate of some chemicals in reared insects and by evaluating the toxic effects that chemicals may have on larvae, this study could contribute to filling this gap.

Sustainable agriculture largely depends on soil biodiversity and requires efficient methods to assess the effectiveness of agronomic planning. Knowledge of the landscape and relative pedosite is enriched by data on the soil microarthropod community, which represent useful bio-indicators for early soil-quality detection in land-use change (LUC). In the hilly Maremma region of Grosseto, Italy, two areas, a >10ys meadow converted into a vineyard and an old biodynamic vineyard (no-LUC), were selected for evaluating the LUC effect. For maintaining soil vitality and ecosystem services by meadow, the vineyard was planted and cultivated using criteria of the patented “Corino method”. The aim was to evaluate the LUC impact, within one year, by assessing parameters characterizing soil properties and soil microarthropod communities after the vineyard was planted. The adopted preservative method in the new vineyards did not show a detrimental impact on the biodiversity of soil microarthropods, and in particular, additional mulching contributed to a quick recovery from soil stress due to working the plantation. In the short term, the adopted agricultural context confirmed that the targeted objectives preserved the soil quality and functionality.