Trait composition and functional diversity of spiders and carabids in linear landscape elements

Agricultural intensification is a cause of global biodiversity decline. Seminatural linear landscape elements (LLE) within agricultural landscapes can considerably mitigate these declines, but their effects on functional properties of biodiversity are poorly known. We analyzed trait composition and functional diversity (functional dispersion) of spiders and carabids in woody and herbaceous LLE. We expected that species assemblages of woody LLE are more diverse and K-selected compared to herbaceous LLE, and that effects of environmental parameters vary between LLE types. We selected 58 LLE in an agricultural landscape in Northwest Germany. We sampled carabids and spiders by pitfall trapping and measured landscape connectivity, landscape-wide land-use diversity, local land-use diversity, and local plant richness as explanatory variables. The trait composition of arthropods in woody LLE was more K-selected (lower dispersal ability, a higher food specialization or trophic level) than in herbaceous LLE. Moreover, spider functional diversity was higher in woody LLE. Spider functional diversity and proportion of predatory carabids in woody LLE increased with increasing connectivity of the habitats. In contrast, in herbaceous LLE local plant richness and landscape-wide land-use diversity were most important drivers for spider and carabid diversity and traits. Our results show that species richness and functional diversity of spiders and carabids were differently affected by landscape and local factors. Therefore, the importance of landscape connectivity was higher in woody LLE, suggesting that their inhabitants are more sensitive to habitat fragmentation than the highly mobile generalist species living in herbaceous habitats.