Comparative analysis of terrestrial arthropod community and biomass in differently managed rice fields in Korea

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the differences in managed farming practices, including low-intensive farming, duck farming, and golden apple snail farming, in a rice ecosystem by comparing terrestrial arthropod communities. A total of 75 species from 70 genera belonging to 43 families in 11 orders were identified from 9,622 collected arthropods. Araneae, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera were the richest taxa. Collembola was the most abundant, followed by Diptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae. Bray- Curtis similarity among the farming practices was very high (76.7%). The biodiversity of each farming practice showed a similar seasonality pattern. The richest species group was the predators, followed by the herbivores. The species richness and diversity of ecologically functional groups among the farming practices were not statistically significant, except for the abundance of predators in golden apple snail farming. The biodiversity seasonality of ecological functional groups in each farming practice showed similar patterns. The biomass of Araneae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera was greater than the other taxa, in general. The biomass of each ecological functional group showed little difference and the biomass fluctuation patterns in each farming practice were almost the same. Collectively, the community structures and biodiversity of terrestrial arthropods among the farming practices in the present study were not different. The present study may contribute to sustain rich biodiversity in irrigated rice fields and to advanced studies of food webs or energy flow structures in rice fields for ecological and sustainable agriculture.