Soil-Dwelling Arthropods’ Response to Land Abandonment Is Taxon-Specific in a Mediterranean Olive Grove Agroecosystem

Matteo Dellapiana (), Alice Caselli, Gaia Monteforti, Ruggero Petacchi and Anna-Camilla Moonen
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Matteo Dellapiana: Institute of Plant Sciences, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Alice Caselli: Institute of Plant Sciences, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Gaia Monteforti: Institute of Crop Production, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Ruggero Petacchi: Institute of Plant Sciences, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy
Anna-Camilla Moonen: Institute of Plant Sciences, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Agricultural land abandonment is an increasing concern in the EU, especially in Mediterranean regions where traditional perennial crops like olive groves are left unmanaged. This study focuses on the impact of land abandonment on soil-dwelling arthropods in olive groves in Monte Pisano, Tuscany, examining ants, spiders, myriapods, and carabids. Using Generalized Linear Mixed Models, the potential olive fruit fly predator community was analyzed over two sampling periods repeated over two years to assess the effects of both abandonment and its proximity to managed fields. Ants were significantly more abundant in managed fields next to abandoned ones, though there were no differences between managed and abandoned fields. Spider abundance did not respond to abandonment nor proximity. Myriapods were more abundant in abandoned fields during the first sampling period, but the proximity of an abandoned field had no effect. Carabids were more abundant in managed fields, especially those adjacent to other managed fields. These results indicate that arthropod responses to abandonment are taxon-specific, highlighting that a mosaic of managed and abandoned fields can both enhance and reduce olive fruit fly predator abundance. Conservation strategies should integrate varying management intensities to optimize biodiversity in Mediterranean agroecosystems. Future research should investigate long-term effects and specific predator responses to abandonment.

Keywords: predators; spiders; ants; carabids; myriapods; biological control; Bactrocera oleae pupae; land use change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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