Habitat structure and neighbor linear features influence more carabid functional diversity in olive groves than the farming system

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe effects of land-use management and environmental features at different scales on carabid beetle diversity and trait structure were assessed across olive groves in northeastern Portugal. We selected organic and integrated olive groves that were distinct in terms of specific management practices, local linear features and landscape configurations. Besides the management intensification levels, differences in carabid diversity and community traits were mainly due to local habitat and ecological linear structures at a finer spatial scale. Carabid community traits related to disturbance, namely traits of body size and species dispersal ability, responded to land-use intensity and particular olive grove features were influencing diversity patterns. Within the olive grove patches, larger and brachypterous species were associated to plots with more dense vegetation cover while macropterous and small-sized species were more associated to open areas. Also, larger carabid species benefitted from higher patch size heterogeneity within the landscape mosaics. Our findings indicate that the effects of farming system is contingent on the specific management practices, local and linear features present in agroecosystems such as olive groves. Particularly, the influence of local features on carabid diversity patterns and community traits linked to dispersal and movement may be crucial in maintaining pest control at a landscape scale.

Promoting generalist predators of crop pests in alley cropping agroforestry fields: Farming system matters

“…Indeed, using emergence traps, Boinot et al (2019b) showed that carabids overwintering in UVS are larger than those associated with crop alleys. This result was consistent with previous studies showing that large carabids are more sensitive to agricultural disturbances (Winqvist et al, 2014;da Silva et al, 2017).…”

Landscape composition and configuration affect the abundance of the olive moth (Prays oleae, Bernard) in olive groves

“…Paredes et al (2013a) showed that the abundance of natural enemies was, in general, more influenced by herbaceous and large woody vegetation adjacent to the crop than by small woody vegetation. Martins da Silva et al (2017) found that carabid species varied with the specific management practices in the olive grove as well as with local and linear features around the groves. However, Albertini et al (2016) did not find significant correlations between the occurrence of natural areas close to the olive groves and the abundance of predaceous Coleoptera in the crop area.…”

Linear Landscape Elements and Heteropteran Assemblages within Mediterranean Vineyard Agroecosystems

“…Body size is a key trait related to several physiological, life-history, and ecological features. Within insects, body size would be associated to characteristics such as sensitivity and tolerance against disturbances, home range, spatiotemporal distribution, or dispersal ability, a dominant factor in shaping arthropod communities within agricultural systems [44,45,54,[72][73][74]. Small size arthropods have less resource requirements and are comparatively more tolerant than large size arthropods, which associate with more stable habitats [74].…”

“…However, it is noteworthy that not all traits are related to the same ecological features. For example, body size is related to attributes such as dispersal ability, sensitivity and response to habitat disturbance, as well as spatial niche or trophic, competitive, and facilitative relationships within ecological networks [44,54]. By contrast, body shape is associated with microhabitat use, while femur shape and wing length are related to dispersal ability and disturbance avoidance.…”