Arthropod Biodiversity and Abundance in Organically and Conventionally Managed, Cool-climate Vineyards in Orange, New South Wales, Australia

Saad N. Al Habsi, Anamika Sharma, Anantanarayanan Raman

Abstract


Little work has been done comparing arthropod biodiversity in organically and conventionally managed vineyards in Australia. Hence, we evaluated arthropod biodiversity and abundance in organically and conventionally managed vineyards in Orange Bioregion of New South Wales. Field trials were organized in Tamburlaine, an organically managed vineyard and in Hedberg Hill, a conventionally managed vineyard in spring 2015 and autumn 2016. Abundance and diversity were determined using Margalef’s diversity index. A total of 266,798 arthropods belonging to 11 Orders were recorded in both Tamburlaine and Hedberg Hill vineyards during sampling periods. The Collembola, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, and Diptera were the most dominant groups in both vineyards, whereas those belonging to Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Araneae, and the subphylum Myriapoda were the least. Analysis of abundance of arthropods between spring 2015 and autumn 2016 showed that a significant difference occurred in both vineyards. However, the biodiversity of arthropods sampled in both spring 2015 and autumn 2016 showed no significant difference between the populations obtained from either. Although no difference was evident in terms of biodiversity, significantly higher mean numbers of arthropods in Tamburlaine occurred than in Hedberg Hill. This pilot study shows that the management practice has an effect on arthropod abundance, but not on arthropod diversity. The results achieved offer an insight into the role of management practice on arthropod abundance and biodiversity in vineyards. .

Keywords


Margalef’s Diversity Index; Soil Arthropods; Vagile Arthropods; Vitis Ecosystems; Biodiversity

References


Bernard, M.B.; Cole, P.; Kobelt, A.; Horne, P.A.; Altmann, J.; Wratten, S.D. and Yen, A.L. 2010. Reducing the impact of pesticides on biological control in Australian vineyards: pesticide mortality and fecundity effects on an indicator species, the predatory mite Euseius victoriensis. Journal of Economic Entomology 103: 2061–2071.

Berry, N.A.; Wratten, S. D.; Mcerlich, A. and Frampton, C. 1996. Abundance and diversity of beneficial arthropods in conventional and ‘organic’ carrot crops in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science 24: 307–313.

Buchanan, G.A. 1977. The seasonal abundance and control of light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana, on grapevines in Victoria. Crop and Pasture Science 28: 125–132.

Bureau OF Meteorology. 2011. Climate statistics for Australian locations: monthly climate statistics, period 1981–2010. Retrived from http://www.bom.gov.au (accessed 25 August 2016).

Childers, C.C.; French, J.V. and Rodrigues, J.C.V. 2003. Brevipalpus californicus, B. obovatus, B. phoenicis, and B. lewisi: a review of their biology, feeding injury and economic importance. Experimental and Applied Acarology 30: 52–58.

Christ, K.L. and Burritt, R.L. 2013. Critical environmental concerns in wine production: an integrative review. Journal of Cleaner Production 53: 232–242.

Department of Environment, Government of Australia. 2012: Australia’s bioregions—maps. Retrived from http://www.environment. gov.au. (accessed on 20 August 2016).

Feber, R.E.; Firbank, L.G.; Johnson, P.J. and Macdonald, D.W. 1997. The effects of organic farming on pest and non-pest butterfly abundance. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 64: 133–139.

James, D.G.; Whitney, J. and Rayner, M. 1995. Phytoseiids dominate the mite fauna on grapevines in Canberra district vineyards. Journal of Australian Entomology Society 34: 797–799.

Gaigher, R. and Samways, M. 2010. Surface-active arthropods in organic vineyards, integrated vineyards and natural habitat in the Cape Floristic Region. Journal of Insect Conservation 14: 595–605.

Gámez-Virués, S.; Gurr, G.; Raman, A.; Lasalle, J. and Nicol, H. 2009. Effects of flowering groundcover vegetation on diversity and activity of wasps in a farm shelterbelt in temperate Australia. BioControl 54: 211–218.

Goode, J. 1980. Insects of Australia. Angus & Robertson, Sydney, Australia. 260 pages.

Grigg, J. and Grigg, G.C. 1977. Insects. Reed Education, Sydney, Australia. 325 pages.

Isbell, R. The National Committee on Soil and Terrain. 2016. The Australian Soil Classification (Australian Soil and Land Survey Handbook Series, 2nd edition). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia. 156 pages.

Magarey, P.A.; Macgregor, A.M.; Wachtel, M.F. and Kelly, M.C. 2006. Field guide for diseases, pests and disorders of grapes for Australia and New Zealand. Winetitles, Loxton, Australia. 108 pages.

Mbuthia, E.; Shariff, J.; Raman, A.; Hodgkins, D.; Nicol, H. and Mannix, S. 2012. Abundance and diversity of soil arthropods and fungi in shelterbelts integrated with pastures in the central tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Forest Science 58: 560–568.

Morris, E.K.; Caruso, T.; Buscot, F.; Fischer, M.; Hancock, C.; Maier, T.S.; Meiners, T.; Müller, C.; Obermaier, E.; Prati, E.; Socher, S.A.; Sonnemann, I.; Wäschke, N.; Wubet, T.; Wurst, S. and Rillig, M.C. 2014. Choosing and using diversity indices: insights for ecological applications from the German biodiversity exploratories. Ecology and Evolution 4: 3514–3524.

Nash, M.A.; Hoffmann, A.A. and Thomson, L.J. 2010. Identifying signature of chemical applications on indigenous and invasive nontarget arthropod communities in vineyards. Ecological Applications 20: 1693–1703.

New, T.R. 1996. Name that insect: a guide to the insects of southeastern Australia. Oxford Univeristy Press, Melbourne, Australia, 208 pages.

Payne, R.W.; Harding, S.A.; Murray, D.A.; Soutar, D.M.; Baird, D.B.; Glaser, A.I.; Welham, S.J.; Gilmour, A.R.; Thompson, R. and Webster, R. 2011. GenStat Release 14 Reference Manual, VSN International, Hemel Hempstead, U.K. http://www.vsni.co.uk/software/genstat/htmlhelp/server/HCITEGEN.htm

Pfiffner, L. and Balmer, O. 2011. Organic agriculture and biodiversity. Retrived from https://shop.fibl.org/en/article /c/biodiversity/ p/1548-biodiversity.html (accessed on 16 August 2016).

Puech, C.; Baudry, J.; Joannon, A.; Poggi, S. and Aviron, S. 2014. Organic vs. conventional farming dichotomy: does it make sense for natural enemies? Agriculture Ecosystem and Environment 194: 48–57.

Siemann, E.; Tilman, D. and Haarstad, J. 1999. Abundance, diversity and body size patterns from a grassland arthropod community. Journal of Animal Ecology 68: 824–835.

Thomson, L.J. 2012. Pesticide impacts on beneficial species (Fact Sheet). Grape and Wine Research & Development Corporation, Loxton. 7 pages.

Thomson, L.J. and Hoffmann, A.A. 2009. Vegetation increases the abundance of natural enemies in vineyards. Biological Control 49: 259–269.

Thomson, L.J.; Sharley, D.J. and Hoffmann, A.A. 2007. Beneficial organisms as bioindicators for environmental sustainability in the grape industry in Australia. Animal Production Science 47: 404–411.

Whalon, M.E.; Monta-Sanchez, D. and Holllingworth, R.M. 2008. Analysis of global pesticide resistance in arthropods. Pages 5–31, In: Global pesticide resistance in arthropods, (eds. Whalon, M.E.; Monta-Sanchez, D. and Holllingworth, R.M.), CABI, Oxfordshire, UK.

Wheeler, S.A. and Crisp, P. 2011. Going organic in viticulture: a case-study comparison in Clare Valley, South Australia. Journal of Environmental Management 18: 182–198.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

COPYRIGHT of this Journal vests fully with the National Instional Institute of Ecology. Any commercial use of the content on this site in any form is legally prohibited.