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The Potential of Newly Established Grassland Strips and Permanent Semi-Natural Grassland to Promote Common Carabids and Spiders on Arable Land
by
, , , and
Ronnie Walcher
1, 
Dominik Rabl
2,3,
Manuela Bürgler
1,3,
Raja Imran Hussain
1
,
Bea Maas
1,4,
Bernhard Krautzer
5,
Dietmar Moser
4 and
Thomas Frank
1,* 1
Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity, Institute of Zoology, BOKU University, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
2
Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5, 96181 Rauhenebrach, Germany
3
Environment Agency Austria, Spittelauer Lände 5, 1090 Vienna, Austria
4
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna, Austria
5
Institute of Plant Production and Cultural Landscape, Federal Research Institute Gumpenstein, Altirdning 11, 8952 Irdning, Austria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2025, 16(5), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16050439
Submission received: 19 February 2025
/
Revised: 16 April 2025
/
Accepted: 21 April 2025
/
Published: 22 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Insect Ecology, Diversity and Conservation)
Simple Summary
Semi-natural grassland and newly established grassland strips potentially support insects in agricultural areas. Carabids and spiders are important predators in agroecosystems and play a crucial role in pest control. We investigated how the most common arable epigean carabids and spiders respond to newly established grassland strips in an Austrian agricultural area and whether these strips provide additional habitat for common arable species. We also investigated whether cereal fields adjacent to grassland strips benefit from higher abundance of arable species. We also analyzed the role of old semi-natural grassland for arable species. While carabids showed a clear preference for cereal fields and grassland strips, old semi-natural grassland habitats were avoided. Although, epigean spiders showed very similar patterns, some were also associated with permanent semi-natural grassland. Pardosa palustris used grassland strips to move into adjacent cereal fields. The number of Brachinus crepitans/explodens was significantly higher in the first sampling year compared to the last sampling year in grassland strips. Further, we obtained colonization of the two spider species Pardosa palustris and Pachygnatha degeeri between grassland strips and adjacent cereals. We conclude that most of the studied species benefit from grassland strips and that grassland strips can provide additional habitat for common arable species.
Abstract
The implementation of grassland strips and maintenance of permanent semi-natural grassland are intended to promote insects on arable land to mitigate the consequences of habitat loss. While effects of grassland restoration on arable land in terms of improving overall insect diversity is well documented, knowledge on the effects on common arable species is deficient. We assessed the abundance of seven epigean carabids and five spiders in newly established grassland strips, adjacent permanent semi-natural grassland and arable crops nearby and further away from grassland strips over six years. Abundance was investigated using pitfall traps. Most carabids showed the highest abundance in arable crops and grassland strips, while permanent semi-natural grassland tended to be avoided. Epigean spiders showed similar patterns, however, some species were also associated with permanent semi-natural grassland. Pardosa palustris showed a distribution pattern with the highest individual numbers in OG and decreasing numbers toward the adjacent habitat’s grassland strips and cereals, most likely indicating spillover. The number of Brachinus crepitans/explodens was significantly higher in the first compared to the last sampling year in grassland strips due to changing habitat conditions with increasing habitat age. In conclusion, grassland strips provide an additional habitat for most of the studied species.
