Positive effects of market garden microfarms on soil-dwelling arthropod diversity: Pilot results from northern Italy

Market garden microfarms are increasingly expanding, primarily with the goal of achieving environmental benefits. However, their effects on soil-dwelling communities remain insufficiently explored. This study investigated the edaphic impacts of market garden systems compared to conventional farming. Soil samples were collected from three paired sites in northern Italy, each cultivating the same two crops: cabbage and radicchio. After extraction and enumeration of soil arthropods, the soil community was analysed using the following indices: Pielou's evenness, Shannon diversity, Simpson diversity, QBS-ar, and the Acarina/Collembola ratio. Results indicated higher values of these indices, suggesting enhanced soil community structure and function in the market garden system. Most indices showed significant differences between management systems and, within each system, between cabbage and radicchio crops. Certain taxa, particularly Isopoda and Diplopoda, were strongly associated with the type of management. These findings suggest that market garden and conventional farming systems have distinct impacts on edaphic arthropod communities.