Biodiversity of epigeic spiders in the agricultural landscape of Western Slovakian Agricultural Landscape with differing management

Spiders play a crucial role in agroecosystems. Therefore, between 2020 and 2022, we studied spider communities in organic and conventional crop systems. A total of 303 individuals from 29 species and six taxa identified at the genus level were recorded in the studied crops. In organic farming, we observed 209 individuals and 30 taxa, while in conventional farming, 94 individuals and 23 taxa were found. Our research revealed significant relationships between spider communities and environmental factors in both organic and conventional farming systems. Using heatmaps, we confirmed the preference of epigeic spider species for organically grown crops. The spider distribution was most influenced by soil pH, moisture (%) and soil temperature (°C). This suggests that spiders may benefit from landscape heterogeneity, such as areas with varying agricultural practices, which provide diverse habitats for species with different preferences. Our findings also support the prediction that the number of spider species increases in both types of farming system.