Response of the Arthropod Community to Soil Characteristics and Management in the Franciacorta Viticultural Area (Lombardy, Italy)

Abstract

Soil represents an important pool of biodiversity, hosting about a quarter of the living species on our planet. This soil richness has led to increasing interest in the structural and functional characteristics of its biodiversity. Studies of arthropod responses, in terms of abundance and taxon richness, have increased in relation to their ecological value as bioindicators of environmental change. This research was carried out over the 2014–2018 period with the aim to better understand arthropod taxa responses in vineyard soils in Franciacorta (Lombardy, Italy). To determine the biological composition in terms of arthropod taxa presence, one hundred soil samples were analysed. Environmental characteristics, such as chemical composition, soil moisture and temperature, and soil management were characterized for each soil sample. A total of 19 taxa were identified; the NMDS model analysis and the cluster analysis divided them into five groups according to their co-occurrence patterns. Each group was related to certain abiotic conditions; of these, soil moisture, temperature and organic matter were shown to be significant. A decision tree analysis showed that a longer period since conversion from conventional to organic farming lead to a higher arthropod biodiversity defined as a higher number of taxa.