How agro-ecological services crops affect soil arthropod diversity in Mediterranean organic greenhouse production

Conventionalization of organic agriculture through input substitution, aimed to fulfill certification requirements, without improvement of natural ecological cycles in agroecosystem, is a relevant concern especially for the organic greenhouse (OGH) sector. Following a holistic approach, more resilient agroecosystems may be designed by taking advantage of Agro-ecological Services Crops (ASC) cultivation during the crops sequence and by using organic matter amendments for the soil fertility management. In this framework, we investigated ecological sustainability of three OGH production systems by studying the soil arthropods taxa. Following systems were under assessment: i) SUBST - bare soil priori to cash crop + organic fertilizer; ii) AGROCOM - ASC as green manure priori to cash crop + compost; and iii) AGROMAN ASC as dead mulch + animal manure. Monitoring of soil arthropods was performed by using pitfall traps and divided in two phases: the pre-crop period (during cultivation of ASC or bare soil in SUBST) and cash crop (kohlrabi) production. Collembola was the most abundant group during cultivation of ASC, in all tested systems and their activity density (AD) was higher in SUBST compared to other two systems. Isopoda, Araneae and Staphylinidae were significantly more abundant in AGROMAN, where manure was applied before ASC sowing. During kohlrabi cultivation Collembola group was confirmed as the most represented in all systems, with the highest values in AGROMAN. Moreover, significant differences were found among the systems for Opiliones, Myriapoda and Staphylinidae groups; with the highest abundance of all these taxa in the AGROCOM system. Results obtained indicate that an agro-ecological practices (ASC cultivation, compost and manure application) could contribute to ecological sustainability and the development of organic agriculture under protected environment

Cover crops as a part of organic greenhouse rotation: Implication on soil arthropods dynamics

Soil arthropods have been recognized as indicators of habitat quality and diversity in open field organic systems, while in organic greenhouses (OG) research is still rather limited. Conservation and promotion of arthropods diversity are often unrelated to the identity of the components that provide it like cover crops (CC). CC may enhance arthropods diversity and provide wide range of ecological services (e.g. shelter, soil temperature moderation). However, the use of the CC in OG is not a widespread practice because farmers aim to produce cash crops for the market during the whole year. The present study aims to investigate the soil arthropods dynamics during CC growth cycle and following cucumber cultivation within a rotation plan in OG under Mediterranean conditions. Three organic farming systems were evaluated in term of soil arthropods dynamics and abundance: i) a simplified organic production system based on organic commercial fertilizers (SUBST); ii) organic production system based on animal manure amendment and cover crops (AGROMAN), and iii) organic production system based on green manuring of cover crops and on-farm compost amendment (AGROCOM). Assessment was based on pitfall traps monitoring and classification of individuals in macrogroups. Spiders, rove beetles and isopods were more abundant in CC treatments, while other groups did not differ significantly among systems. Cucumber cultivation revealed different patterns, with more uniform results among the systems, except for AGROMAN. Results show that cover crops influenced soil arthropod diversity and their suitability to be used as bioindicators of ecological sustainability

How agro-ecological services crops affect soil arthropod diversity in Mediterranean organic greenhouse production

Conventionalization of organic agriculture through input substitution, aimed to fulfill certification requirements, without improvement of natural ecological cycles in agroecosystem, is a relevant concern especially for the organic greenhouse (OGH) sector. Following a holistic approach, more resilient agroecosystems may be designed by taking advantage of Agro-ecological Services Crops (ASC) cultivation during the crops sequence and by using organic matter amendments for the soil fertility management. In this framework, we investigated ecological sustainability of three OGH production systems by studying the soil arthropods taxa. Following systems were under assessment: i) SUBST - bare soil priori to cash crop + organic fertilizer; ii) AGROCOM - ASC as green manure priori to cash crop + compost; and iii) AGROMAN - ASC as dead mulch + animal manure. Monitoring of soil arthropods was performed by using pitfall traps and divided in two phases: the pre-crop period (during cultivation of ASC or bare soil in SUBST) and cash crop (kohlrabi) production. Collembola was the most abundant group during cultivation of ASC, in all tested systems and their activity density (AD) was higher in SUBST compared to other two systems. Isopoda, Araneae and Staphylinidae were significantly more abundant in AGROMAN, where manure was applied before ASC sowing. During kohlrabi cultivation Collembola group was confirmed as the most represented in all systems, with the highest values in AGROMAN. Moreover, significant differences were found among the systems for Opiliones, Myriapoda and Staphylinidae groups; with the highest abundance of all these taxa in the AGROCOM system. Results obtained indicate that an agro-ecological practices (ASC cultivation, compost and manure application) could contribute to ecological sustainability and the development of organic agriculture under protected environment