The influence of agricultural management form on the structure and the species diversity of ground beetle (Carabidae) assemblages was studied. The research was carried out in the vicinity of Očová village (Central Slovakia) in [2005][2006]. Carabid beetles were pitfall-trapped in four pairs of plots with the same crop, but conventionally and naturefriendly managed. In total, 54,376 individuals of 68 species of 30 genera were collected. The significantly positive effect of nature-friendly management on the number of carabid beetle individuals and species diversity was observed only in the plots with arable soil. Carabid beetles reached a higher species diversity in the plots with a higher pH and humus content. These parameters were typical of nature-friendly managed fields, and of the conventionally managed permanent grass stands. In general, number of carabid beetle individuals and species was higher in arable soils than in permanent grass stands.

The paper presents the results of studies on the communities of Carabids from the land registry area of the Očová village (Podpoľanie region, Central Slovakia). The research was carried out in two consecutive vegetation periods on two different agricultural plots with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.): the first of them (locality Nadhájniková) was managed intensively, and the second one (locality Koteľnice) was characterized by a nature-friendly, low-input agro-environmental management form, without application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. On the studied sites, the observed species composition of Carabidae was similar. Neverthe-less, the higher total number of individuals and the higher species richness were typical for the nature-friendly managed plot in Koteľnice. On both plots, the highest abundances were reached in Poecilus cupreus, Pterostichus melanarius and Pseudoophonus rufipes. On the intensively managed plot in Nadhájniková, however, the abundances of all these species were markedly lower. Our results suggest that the studied component of epigeic fauna finds better ecological conditions on the sites with the nature-friendly management form.

The paper is aimed at evaluation of the influence of two different agricultural management forms on harvestman (Opiliones) communities structure in relation to the optimization of land use on the model territory of Agricultural Cooperative (AC) Očová (Central Slovakia). The research was carried out using pitfall trapping through growing seasons from 2005 to 2007. Harvestmen were captured at four pairs of sites (8 sites in total). For each pair of sites the cultivation of the same crop with application of two different forms of agricultural management (conventional form and sustainable form with basic sustainable agro-environmental scheme) was characteristic. In total, 667 individuals of 8 species of the Phalangiidae family were captured during the research. The research results confirm the influence of management form on the structure of harvestman communities only partially. The obtained data indicate that the management form plays a significant role, especially in such agrocoenoses, in which the same crop is cultivated for several years (e.g., sites with alfalfa or permanent lawn), i.e., on the sites without ploughing or use of other similar agrotechnical measures. In these cases, the sites with the sustainable agro-environmental scheme showed higher diversity and equability of harvestman communities than the sites with the conventional form of agrotechnical management. Harvestman communities structure on sites with crop rotation and repeated ploughing was more influenced by additional factors than by the agricultural management form.

No abstract