Epigeic soil arthropod abundance under different agricultural land uses

Abstract

The study of soil arthropods can provide valuable information how ecosystems respond to different management practices. The objective was to assess the total abundance, richness, and composition of epiedaphic arthropods in different agrosystems from southwestern Spain. Six sites with different agricultural uses were selected: olive grove, vineyards, olive grove with vineyards, wheat fields, fallows (150-300 m long), and abandoned vineyards. Crops were managed in extensive. Field margins were used as reference habitats. At the seven sites a total of 30 pitfall traps were arranged in a 10 × 3 grid. Traps were arranged to short (SD, 1 m), medium (MD, 6 m) and large (LD, 11 m) distance to the field margins in the middle of selected plots. Pitfall traps captured a total of 11,992 edaphic arthropods belonging to 11 different taxa. Soil fauna was numerically dominated by Formicidae (26.60%), Coleoptera (19.77%), and Aranae (16.76%). The higher number of soil arthropods were captured in the field margins followed by the abandoned vineyard. Significant differences were found between sites for total abundance, and zones. However, no significant differences for total abundance were found between months (April-July). Richness and diversity was highest in field margins and abandoned vineyards. Significant differences were found for these variables between sites. Our results suggest that agricultural intensification affects soil arthropods in Tierra de Barros area, a taxonomic group with an important role in the functioning of agricultural ecosystems.Additional key words: abundance; agrosystems; diversity; field margins. Resumen Abundancia de artrópodos epigeos en parcelas con diferentes cultivosEl estudio de los artrópodos puede aportar información de interés de cómo los ecosistemas responden a las diferentes prácticas de manejo del suelo. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la abundancia, la riqueza y la composición de artrópodos epigeos en diferentes agrosistemas del suroeste de España. Se seleccionaron seis parcelas con diferentes usos agrícolas: olivar, viñedo, plantación mixta de viñedo-olivar, cereal, barbecho y viñedo abandonado, utilizándose los linderos como sistemas de referencia. En cada parcela se colocaron 30 trampas de caída en una cuadrícula de 10 × 3, de modo que cada línea de trampas quedó colocada a una distancia corta (SD, 1 m), media (MD, 6 m) o grande (LD, 11 m) de los linderos. Se capturaron un total de 11.992 artrópodos edáficos, pertenecientes a 11 taxa diferentes. Numéricamente la fauna del suelo estaba dominada por Formicidae (26,60%), Coleoptera (19,77%) y Aranae (16,76%). El mayor número de artrópodos se capturó en los linderos y en la viña abandonada, encontrándose diferencias significativas en la abundancia entre las diferentes parcelas y las zonas donde se ubicaron las líneas de trampas. Sin embargo, no se encontraron diferencias entre los distintos meses estudiados (abril-julio). La riqueza y la diversidad fue mayor en los linderos y en la viña abandonada, encontrándose diferenc...

Composition and seasonal variation of epigeic arthropods in field margins of NW Portugal

“…Ants were the most abundant trophic guild in spring, although not significantly higher than saprophagous/fungal feeders and predator abundance. In fact, ant dominance, sometimes in conjunction with the Coleoptera, has been found in natural Mediterranean areas (e.g., Legakis, 1994;Doblas-Miranda et al, 2007) and seems also to be a trait in Mediterranean agroecosystems, at least in spring and summer (e.g., Santos et al, 2007;Pérez-Bote and Romero, 2012). Nevertheless, and since our study used pitfall traps, the distance and size of the ant colony or its distance from the trap may be highly influential for catch results (Greenslade, 1973).…”

Does habitat heterogeneity affect the diversity of epigaeic arthropods in vineyards?

“…Although it is generally assumed that they are generalists, being able to subsist on a wide variety of preys (Cardoso et al ., ), some species are specialists of a singular prey group (Pekár et al ., ). Other studies have suggested that Araneae are one of the most dominant soil arthropods in vineyards (Pérez‐Bote & Romero, ; Gaigher & Samways, ). However, in previous research carried out in South Africa (Gaigher & Samways, ) and California (Hogg & Daane, ), the most abundant Araneae families found in vineyards were Gnaphosidae and Lycosidae.…”

The role of ecological infrastructure on beneficial arthropods in vineyards

“…According to Pérez-Bote & Romero (2012), biodiversity in agricultural habitats is influenced by the surrounding landscape. A diverse plant community can influence beneficial arthropod populations by providing food or habitat resources that might not be found in a simple plant comunity (Costello & Daane, 1998).…”