Weed Species, Not Mulching, Affect Web‐Building Spiders and Their Prey in Organic Fruit Orchards in South Africa

Abstract

Weeds affect orchard productivity and are therefore often controlled by herbicide application. The addition of organic mulch may be an alternative practice to suppress weeds under organic farming, but could also affect pest and beneficial arthropods. Mulching did not significantly affect weed cover or the taxonomic composition of weed or spider communities, but the composition of weed communities was significantly related to the composition of prey arthropods and spider communities. Our results suggest that the identity of weed species had a pronounced effect on the diet composition and functional role of web-building spiders in organically managed orchards in South Africa. These photographs illustrate the article “Weed species, not mulching, affect web-building spiders and their prey in organic fruit orchards in South Africa” by F. Arvidsson, P. Addison, M. Addison, C. R. Haddad, and K. Birkhofer published in Ecosphere. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3059