Effects of Ground Cover Management, Landscape Elements and Local Conditions on Carabid (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Diversity and Vine Vitality in Temperate Vineyards

Abstract

Sustainable vineyard management in inter-rows may improve biodiversity and ecosystem service provision in landscapes with a high density of vineyards. The current work investigates the effect of three inter-row ground cover treatments (bare soil by tillage, alternating and complete vegetation cover) on carabid beetle communities and vine vitality, in relation to climatic, soil and landscape parameters. Pitfall traps were used to collect carabids in the spring and autumn of 2016 from nine Austrian vineyards, with all three ground cover treatments established in each vineyard. Additionally, grape berry samples were collected before harvest in order to determine juice quality parameters. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that complete vegetation cover, the most extensive vineyard inter-row management, decreased both carabid density and species richness. The variables hours of sunshine, vineyard cover at the landscape scale and mesofauna abundance had negative impacts on species richness. The largest differentiator of carabid communities was the sampling timepoint, and we observed clustering associated to vineyard manager, whereas ground cover treatment played no significant role. The importance of treatment on vine vitality parameters was low; however, complete vegetation cover was detrimental to vine vegetative growth and berry weight. On the basis of our results, we conclude that although community composition may be influenced by pedo-climatic conditions and landscape components, alternating vegetation cover is an option for maintaining both carabid diversity and high-quality berries in vineyards.