The Impact Of Vineyard Inter-Row Vegetation On Plant And Insect Diversity

Cover cropping is an increasingly popular agricultural practice that can help support biodiversity and reduce the negative impact of intensive agricultural production. This study focuses on the impact of inter-row vegetation change on invertebrate species occurrence and vegetation composition. The spontaneous cover crop evaluated in 2018 was changed in spring 2019 to a commercial plant mixture designed for vineyards' greening. Due to dry weather conditions, the sown vegetation coverage rate in 2019 was very low. There was a strong positive correlation between the number of invertebrates and the coverage rate and number of plant species. The sum of average numbers of invertebrates per six-meter-long plot in the inter-rows was 295.67 in 2018 and 142.67 in 2019. Phytophagous species, predators and parasitoids were present in higher numbers in 2018 than in 2019. The average number of phytophagous species was 47% lower and the average number of predators and parasitoids was 69% lower in 2019 than 2018. The coverage rate and plant diversity were lowest (similar to 20%) in August and September 2019.