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Local management and landscape structure determine the assemblage patterns of spiders in vegetable fields
Hafiz Sohaib Ahmed Saqib1,2,3, Junhui Chen1,2,3, Wei Chen1,2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Scientific Reports
|September 16, 2020
Summary
Local and landscape factors significantly impact spider communities in agricultural fields. Organic cauliflower crops in forested areas support higher spider abundance and richness, crucial for biological control.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Agricultural Science
- Entomology
Background:
- Understanding the influence of field- and landscape-scale factors on predator communities is crucial for effective biological control.
- Spiders are key predators in agroecosystems, providing valuable pest control services.
- The interaction between local management practices and landscape context in structuring spider communities remains poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relative importance of field- and landscape-scale factors on spider community structure in a brassica agroecosystem.
- To determine how local factors (pesticide use, crop type) and landscape composition influence spider abundance and species richness.
Main Methods:
- Field surveys were conducted in a dynamic brassica agroecosystem.
- Spider communities were analyzed in relation to local factors (pesticide application, crop type) and landscape features (forest, grassland).
- Statistical analyses, including correlation and ordination, were used to assess community patterns.
Main Results:
- Local factors (pesticide use, crop type) and the presence of forested landscapes significantly affected spider abundance and species richness.
- Grassland patches in the landscape positively influenced spider species richness.
- Organic cauliflower fields within forested landscapes showed a strong positive association with higher spider abundance and species richness, while conventional Chinese cabbage fields in simplified landscapes had reduced spider populations.
Conclusions:
- There is a significant interaction between local management practices and landscape context in shaping spider communities.
- Conservation biological control strategies should consider both field-level management (e.g., reduced pesticide use, organic practices) and landscape composition (e.g., presence of forest and grassland habitats).
- These findings help explain variability in the effectiveness of landscape factors for enhancing biological control in agricultural systems.
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