Effect of landscape and grass cover on arthropods richness and diversity in vineyard plots

Abstract

To preserve biodiversity in vineyards, a change towards sustainable wine growing practices seems essential. The extensive management of ecological infrastructures in viticulture landscapes and integrated farming practices appear as the main objectives in order to “halt the decline of biodiversity by 2050“. In this perspective, the present study on the territory of the PDO “Costières de Nîmes” in France is designed to evaluate the effect of landscape and grass cover on arthropods richness and diversity measured in vineyard plots. In each of the 25 selected plots, arthropods are captured by a non-selective trapping station and are sorted out using the RBA method. In a radius of 300m around each trapping station, landscape’s composition, structure and diversity are evaluated thanks to a digitalization at 1:2000 scale. For each of the 25 plots, the percentage of herbaceous cover and the grass cover management type are also measured in order to assess the grass cover effect on arthropods diversity at the plot scale. Statistical analyzes reveal a positive relationship between the amount of semi-natural habitats (SNH) within 300m and arthropods diversity in the vineyard. Among these SNH, herbaceous fallows (including uprooted plots with herbaceous cover crops) appear to be of particular interest for entomofauna. At the plot scale, the ground cover percentage has a significant positive effect on arthropods populations and seems useful to ensure their presence close to the vines.

Our results show that arthropods conservation into vineyards requires a sustainable management of the entire viticulture landscape, in Semi-natural habitats but also in vineyard itself.