Low-Carbon Intercropping Management: Effects on Ground-Wandering Spiders in Tea Plantations

Abstract

The responses of ground-wandering spider communities were examined in terms of species composition, population structure and population diversity in subtropical, hill-country tea plantations subjected to two contrasting systems of agricultural management. Samples were collected between June 2010 and May 2011 from tea plantations using either low-carbon intercropping management (plantation JZ) or routine management (plantation CK), using both clapping and trapping methods of sample collection. The results showed that the composition of the spider community in plantation JZ was significantly richer, on the basis of several quantitative measures, than in plantation CK (P <0.001), with 3.17 times, 1.68 times and 1.40 times the numbers of female, male and immature spiders present, respectively. In addition, in plantation JZ, in which four species of spider were predominant, the diversity index and richness index were increased, respectively, by 15.09% and 9.85%. Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that the management regime of plantation JZ was significantly reflected in the distributions of Houa jiafui, Pardosa pusiola and Venonia spirocysta, whereas that of plantation CK was reflected in the distribution of Zelotes asiaticus. Therefore, in a low-carbon management regime a rich diversity of plant species is conducive both to the reduction of CO2 emissions and to the protection of species diversity in ground-wandering spiders.