Abstract Canopy arthropods in the olive agroecosystem were monitored for a period of two years, in orchards located in hills and plains, as representative agroecological zones of cultivation in Crete, Greece. Other environmental and farming-related features such as climate conditions, landscape complexity, pesticide use, canopy and soil cover status, were also recorded. Functional arthropods, potentially providing biological control services, as well as main pests, were aggregated in corresponding groups. Comparison between agroecological zones delivered statistically significant differences in terms of seasonal diversity, abundance of several individual taxa and biological pest control agents that were found higher in hills. Multivariate analysis revealed that climate, farming practices and landscape-related factors explained arthropod variation better than agroecological zones. Nevertheless, hills as cultivation zones also explained a considerable portion of arthropod community seasonal composition. The study suggests that the zones of cultivation should be considered in research frameworks supporting biodiversity-based agricultural approaches.

中文翻译：

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农业生态区是橄榄农业生态系统中冠层节肢动物群落的重要驱动力

摘要 橄榄农业生态系统中的冠层节肢动物在位于丘陵和平原的果园中进行了为期两年的监测，这些果园是希腊克里特岛的代表性农业生态种植区。其他与环境和农业相关的特征，如气候条件、景观复杂性、农药使用、树冠和土壤覆盖状况，也被记录下来。可能提供生物防治服务的功能性节肢动物以及主要害虫被聚集在相应的组中。农业生态区之间的比较在季节性多样性、几个个体分类群的丰度和在山丘中发现的生物害虫防治剂方面产生了统计学上的显着差异。多变量分析表明，气候、农业实践和景观相关因素比农业生态区更好地解释了节肢动物的变异。尽管如此，丘陵作为栽培区也解释了相当一部分节肢动物群落的季节性组成。该研究表明，应在支持基于生物多样性的农业方法的研究框架中考虑种植区。