The use of artificial habitats increases spider abundance and richness in a vineyard of Argentina

Abstract

Maintaining biodiversity in agricultural systems is essential, as it plays a key role in ecosystem services provision. However, it is declining at an unprecedented rate. Several methods can contribute to increasing species diversity in agroecosystems, including the use of artificial microhabitats. Studies focusing on biodiversity in vineyards have been carried out recently, mainly in Europe and North America, but are scarce in South America. In this study, we investigate whether introduced environmental variability and habitat complexity, using corrugated cardboard bands, enhances spider abundance and diversity in vineyards. Spiders were collected from grapevine plants, using two collecting methods (foliage beating and direct collection). Plants with and without cardboard bands (N = 30) were sampled in three different phenological stages of the vineyard (veraison, maturity and postharvest). Overall, we collected 904 spiders belonging to 35 species. We found that spider abundance and species richness significantly increased with cardboard bands. In addition, we identified particular species that prefer cardboard bands to build their shelters. Results suggest that cost-effective habitat manipulation can increase spider abundance in vineyards, which implies higher biodiversity conservation value and potential for improving biological control.