Article 8
Effects of agricultural practices and abiotic factors on woodlice diversity across two agroecosystems in Tunisia
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ABSTRACT. – There are evidences that agricultural practices are important drivers of the soil biota structure, but the mechanism is far from being fully understood, especially on the regional scale. In order to evaluate the impact of agricultural practices and abiotic factors on the community of terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea), a comparative study between two sampling sites belonging to two bioclimatic zones in Tunisia was carried out. The diversity and abundance of Oniscidea in eight crop types in each region were studied. We also tested the effect of environmental factors on the distribution of this group. Our findings highlighted a significant impact of crop type on the Oniscidean community and revealed that grassland harbored the highest diversity regardless of the sampling site. Porcellio variabilis (Lucas, 1846) and Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833) were the most common species in the Majerda and Regueb plains, respectively, although P. variabilis represented the most recorded species across both sampling sites. Canonical Correspondence Analysis suggested that Oniscidean diversity is related to the crop type and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, and soil properties.