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Groundcovers and Rain Shelters Alter Co-Occurrence Patterns among Ground Beetle Communities in an Organic Raspberry
Gaétan Moreau1, Charles Comeau2, Jean-Pierre Privé3
1Département de Biologie, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB E1A 3E9, Canada.
Insects
|May 27, 2022
Summary
Rain shelters and reflective groundcovers in organic raspberry farms minimally impact ground beetle communities. These sustainable farming structures do not harm beneficial epigean fauna, supporting ecological balance.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Ecology
- Entomology
Background:
- Organic fruit crops face challenges from rain-driven phytopathogens.
- Rain shelters and reflective groundcovers enhance crop sustainability.
- Potential impacts on non-target epigean species are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effects of rain shelters and reflective groundcovers on ground beetle communities.
- To assess the independent and combined impacts of these structures in organic red raspberry systems.
- To determine if these sustainable agriculture practices negatively affect ground fauna.
Main Methods:
- Field study conducted over two summers in New Brunswick, Canada.
- Investigated rain shelters and white, synthetic reflective groundcovers in a red raspberry organic cropping system.
- Collected and identified 18,445 ground beetles across 54 species.
Main Results:
- Rain shelters and reflective groundcovers showed limited alterations in ground beetle species richness.
- Activity density and functional diversity of ground beetles were also minimally affected.
- No detrimental impact on the overall epigean fauna was observed.
Conclusions:
- Rain shelters and reflective groundcovers, beneficial for organic crop protection, do not significantly harm ground beetle communities.
- These structures appear compatible with maintaining beneficial epigean fauna in agricultural ecosystems.
- Sustainable agricultural practices can be implemented without adverse effects on ground-dwelling insects.
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