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Organic vs. organic – soil arthropods as bioindicators of ecological sustainability in greenhouse system experiment under Mediterranean conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

Suzana Madzaric ,
F.G. Ceglie ,
L. Depalo ,
L. Al Bitar ,
G. Mimiola ,
F. Tittarelli  and
G. Burgio
Suzana Madzaric*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Science per l'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Parthenope’ Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, 80143 Napoli, Italy CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, via Ceglie 9, 70010 – Valenzano (BA), Italy
F.G. Ceglie
Affiliation:
CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, via Ceglie 9, 70010 – Valenzano (BA), Italy
L. Depalo
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie-Entomologia, Università di Bologna, viale Fanin 42, 40127 Bologna, Italy
L. Al Bitar
Affiliation:
CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, via Ceglie 9, 70010 – Valenzano (BA), Italy
G. Mimiola
Affiliation:
CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, via Ceglie 9, 70010 – Valenzano (BA), Italy
F. Tittarelli
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria-Centro di ricerca per lo studio delle relazioni tra pianta e suolo CREA – RPS, Rome, Italy
G. Burgio
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie-Entomologia, Università di Bologna, viale Fanin 42, 40127 Bologna, Italy
*
*Author for correspondence Phone: +39 (342) 134-7169 Fax: +39 (080) 4606-210 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Organic greenhouse (OGH) production is characterized by different systems and agricultural practices with diverse environmental impact. Soil arthropods are widely used as bioindicators of ecological sustainability in open field studies, while there is a lack of research on organic production for protected systems. This study assessed the soil arthropod abundance and diversity over a 2-year crop rotation in three systems of OGH production in the Mediterranean. The systems under assessment differed in soil fertility management: SUBST – a simplified system of organic production, based on an input substitution approach (use of guano and organic liquid fertilizers), AGROCOM – soil fertility mainly based on compost application and agroecological services crops (ASC) cultivation (tailored use of cover crops) as part of crop rotation, and AGROMAN – animal manure and ASC cultivation as part of crop rotation. Monitoring of soil fauna was performed by using pitfall traps and seven taxa were considered: Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Araneae, Opiliones, Isopoda, Myriapoda, and Collembola. Results demonstrated high potential of ASC cultivation as a technique for beneficial soil arthropod conservation in OGH conditions. SUBST system was dominated by Collembola in all crops, while AGROMAN and AGROCOM had more balanced relative abundance of Isopoda, Staphylinidae, and Aranea. Opiliones and Myriapoda were more affected by season, while Carabidae were poorly represented in the whole monitoring period. Despite the fact that all three production systems are in accordance with the European Union regulation on organic farming, findings of this study displayed significant differences among them and confirmed the suitability of soil arthropods as bioindicators in protected systems of organic farming.

Keywords

organic greenhouseagroecological services cropsagroecologyStaphylinidae
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 108 , Issue 5 , October 2018 , pp. 625 - 635
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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