Agroecological zones as an important driver of canopy arthropod community in olive agroecosystems
2020
Gkisakis, Vasileios D. | Volakakis, Nikolaos G. | Kabourakis, Emmanouil M.
Canopy arthropods in the olive agroecosystem were monitored for a period of two years, in orchards located in hills and plains, as representative agroecological zones of cultivation in Crete, Greece. Other environmental and farming-related features such as climate conditions, landscape complexity, pesticide use, canopy and soil cover status, were also recorded. Functional arthropods, potentially providing biological control services, as well as main pests, were aggregated in corresponding groups. Comparison between agroecological zones delivered statistically significant differences in terms of seasonal diversity, abundance of several individual taxa and biological pest control agents that were found higher in hills. Multivariate analysis revealed that climate, farming practices and landscape-related factors explained arthropod variation better than agroecological zones. Nevertheless, hills as cultivation zones also explained a considerable portion of arthropod community seasonal composition. The study suggests that the zones of cultivation should be considered in research frameworks supporting biodiversity-based agricultural approaches.
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