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Background <p>Land use change and agricultural intensification can reduce biodiversity and compromise ecosystem services such as biological pest control. Nevertheless, agricultural systems containing seminatural habitats may continue to support natural enemy communities that contribute to pest regulation.</p> Methods <p>We examined the abundance and family composition of predatory arthropods across five land-use types in the central highlands of Ethiopia. We also evaluated the influence of ground vegetation cover, woody species richness, woody species diversity, and altitude on predator communities. Predatory arthropods were sampled along transects spanning cropland and adjacent habitats using pitfall traps arranged in triangular plots. Specimens were identified to family level and grouped into major predatory taxa. Abundance data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), while differences in family composition were assessed using PERMANOVA and visualized using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS).</p> Results <p>A total of 3,000 predatory arthropods representing ten families were recorded. Predatory arthropod abundance differed significantly among land use types, with seminatural habitats generally supporting higher abundances than cropland. Ant abundance was influenced by both land use type and ground vegetation cover, while beetle abundance responded to land use type and woody species richness. Spider abundance was primarily structured by land use type, whereas flies and wasps showed no significant responses to the measured predictors. Pooled abundance was significantly affected by land use type and ground vegetation cover. Although family composition differed among land use types, substantial overlap in assemblage structure was observed among seminatural habitats.</p> Conclusions <p>Land use type is a major determinant of predatory arthropod abundance and community composition in agricultural matrix habitats. The higher abundance observed in seminatural habitats and the positive influence of ground vegetation cover emphasize the importance of maintaining habitat heterogeneity and vegetation structure to support predatory arthropod communities and the ecosystem services they provide.</p>

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Patterns and drivers of ground dwelling predatory arthropod abundance and family composition in the agricultural landscape of Central Ethiopia

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月12日

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  • Motuma Didita,
  • Debissa Lemessa,
  • Sileshi Nemomissa,
  • Tamrat Bekele

摘要

Background

Land use change and agricultural intensification can reduce biodiversity and compromise ecosystem services such as biological pest control. Nevertheless, agricultural systems containing seminatural habitats may continue to support natural enemy communities that contribute to pest regulation.

Methods

We examined the abundance and family composition of predatory arthropods across five land-use types in the central highlands of Ethiopia. We also evaluated the influence of ground vegetation cover, woody species richness, woody species diversity, and altitude on predator communities. Predatory arthropods were sampled along transects spanning cropland and adjacent habitats using pitfall traps arranged in triangular plots. Specimens were identified to family level and grouped into major predatory taxa. Abundance data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), while differences in family composition were assessed using PERMANOVA and visualized using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS).

Results

A total of 3,000 predatory arthropods representing ten families were recorded. Predatory arthropod abundance differed significantly among land use types, with seminatural habitats generally supporting higher abundances than cropland. Ant abundance was influenced by both land use type and ground vegetation cover, while beetle abundance responded to land use type and woody species richness. Spider abundance was primarily structured by land use type, whereas flies and wasps showed no significant responses to the measured predictors. Pooled abundance was significantly affected by land use type and ground vegetation cover. Although family composition differed among land use types, substantial overlap in assemblage structure was observed among seminatural habitats.

Conclusions

Land use type is a major determinant of predatory arthropod abundance and community composition in agricultural matrix habitats. The higher abundance observed in seminatural habitats and the positive influence of ground vegetation cover emphasize the importance of maintaining habitat heterogeneity and vegetation structure to support predatory arthropod communities and the ecosystem services they provide.