Year 2024, Volume 9, Issue 3
| Year : | 2024 |
| Volume : | 9 |
| Issue : | 3 |
| Authors : | Ioanna MICHAIL, Panagiotis TSAHATSANIS, Β. KONTELE, Ioanna KARAGIANNI, Kaliopi KOLOKITHA, Grisela BENISTA, Vasileios GKISAKIS |
| Title : | EFFECT OF FARMING SYSTEM ON ANT ASSEMBLAGES AND GROUND COVER FAUNA IN GREEK OLIVE GROVES |
| Abstract : | Conventional pest control methods pose a damaging effect on farmland ecology, mainly by the long-term use of synthetic pesticides, which lead to the decrease of agrobiodiversity. Additionally, soil as a main habitat and natural resource on which flora and arthropod communities depend on, should be better managed to regulate agrobiodiversity loss. Agroecological and organic farming methods are proved to deliver a positive regenerative impact on ground-dwelling arthropods and groundcover flora. Specifically, ants play an important role in ecosystem functioning by maintaining or even restoring soil quality, as well as delivering pest control services. Similarly, groundcover flora while hosting beneficial insects, also contributes to soil structure maintenance, mitigating soil erosion in inclined terrains. In this case study, for assessing the impact of farming systems on vegetative groundcover and ant assemblages’ abundance, an experiment was installed in two different olive groves (organic and conventional) at Messinia region in Peloponnese, a main olive production area of Greece. The survey took place during spring and autumn of 2023, in five replicated sampling procedures. The ant communities were taxonomized to a genera level and the groundcover flora density and abundance was assessed to species level. The monitoring results indicated that the highest abundance regarding both ant assemblages and groundcover flora were found in the organic olive grove during the whole duration of the sampling. Ant richness between genera was also significantly higher in the organic compared to the traditional olive grove. Consequently, the findings of the in-situ experimentation indicate the importance of integrating organic methods to soil management models for increasing soil health at farm level, especially with regards to agrobiodiversity. |
| For citation : | Michail, I., Tsahatsanis, P., Kontele, Β., Karagianni, I., Kolokitha, K., Benista, G., Gkisakis, V. (2024). Effect of farming system on ant assemblages and ground cover fauna in Greek olive groves. AGROFOR International Journal, Volume 9. Issue No. 3. pp. 58-67. DOI: 10.7251/AGREN2403058M |
| Keywords : | Agrobiodiversity, Agroecology, Olive, Soil health, Sustainability. |
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ISSN 2490-3434 (Printed)
ISSN 2490-3442 (Online)
ISSN 2490-3442 (Online)
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