AI Article Synopsis

  • Apple orchards are heavily managed agro-ecosystems, with varying pesticide use across different management strategies like abandoned, organic, Integrated Pest Management, and conventional.
  • The study found that spider communities had the highest abundance and diversity in abandoned orchards, while organic orchards showed more diversity compared to other commercial types.
  • Differences in ecological traits among spider communities indicated that organic orchards hosted unique species, while abandoned orchards had seven bioindicator species, highlighting the impact of management practices on biodiversity.

Article Abstract

Apple orchards are agro-ecosystems managed with high levels of inputs and especially pesticides. Epigeal spider communities were sampled in three seasons using pitfall traps in 19 apple orchards with four different management strategies (abandoned, under organic, Integrated Pest Management or conventional protection) and thus significantly different pesticide usage. The abundance and diversity of the spider communities was the highest in abandoned orchards. Higher diversity and evenness values were the only difference in spider communities from the organic orchards compared to the other commercial orchards. The analysis of five ecological traits (proportion of aeronauts, type of diet, overwintering stages, body size and maternal care), however, clearly showed differences in the spiders from the organic orchards. The spider species in the other commercial orchards were smaller and have higher dispersal abilities. Seven bioindicator species were identified in abandoned orchards, two species in organic ones (only Lycosidae) and one species in conventional orchards (Linyphiidae).

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1409-1DOI Listing

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