Correlation between microarthropods and the polyphagous predator fauna in agricultural fields

Summary

In crop rotation experiments on Foulum and Flakkebjerg research stations the effect of manure and catch crop were analysed. Flying as well as ground-active arthropods were collected in winter wheat, and soil micro fauna and fungal activity were recorded. Surprisingly, only weak effects of organic manure input and undersown catch crops were found in neither the 2002 data nor the 2003 data. The collembola density was very high in all treatment with averages around 60,000 per m2 in Foulum and 20,000 per m2 in Flakkebjerg. No effects on aphid control were recorded at the two locations. In stead a correlation between the community of spiders and certain species of microarthropods were found in the data from both Foulum and Flakkebjerg, and a correlation between the community of Carabid beetles and other species of microarthropods were found in the data from Flakkebjerg