Influence of habitat type and surrounding landscape on spider diversity in Swedish agroecosystems

Lycosid and linyphiid spiders were collected over a full cropping season around Uppsala, Sweden, in eight organic spring sown cereal fields in three different habitat types: field margin, field, and the edge between the two. The sites were located in landscapes with different proportions of non-crops, forest, perennial crops, annual crops, and number and sizes of arable fields. The field margin, compared with the field habitat, was found to be important for the activity density of lycosids, and for the species richness and composition of linyphiids. Landscape parameters were central for the activity density of linyphiids and for the species richness and composition of Lycosidae. A diverse landscape with easy access to perennial crops and forest in addition to field margins will augment both the number of species and individuals of the two spider families.