A Comparison of Ground Beetle (Carabidae: Coleoptera) Communities in an Organic and Conventional Potato Crop.

Autor: O'Sullivan, C. M., Gormally, M. J.
Předmět:
Zdroj: Biological Agriculture & Horticulture; 2002, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p99-110, 12p, 2 Charts, 2 Graphs
Abstrakt: An investigation of the carabid and plant communities of a conventional and an organic potato crop was carried out in the west of Ireland from June to September 1999. At each site, carabids were sampled using 15 pitfall traps, and 2 x 2 m quadrats were used to assess weed and potato cover. A total of 17 carabid species (672 individuals) were trapped during the study with 11 species common to both sites. 82.4% of individuals were captured at the organic site compared with 17.6% at the conventional site. The reciprocal Berger-Parker diversity index was 3.4 and 2.2 for the organic and conventional sites, respectively. Pterostichus niger and P. melanarius constituted 48.3% of the total catch and were the most abundant of all species captured. However, of the catch at each site, Bembidion bruxellense (44.9%) and P. niger (29.1%) were the most abundant species at the conventional and organic sites, respectively. A total of 13 weed species were identified, 11 of which were found exclusively in the organic field. A positive relationship between weed species richness and carabid species richness was apparent with r (Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient) = 0.679, p < 0.001). The relationship was stronger between carabid species richness and weed cover (r = 0.704, p < 0.001). Differences between the sites appear to be related to weed cover although other possible factors are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Databáze: Supplemental Index