Background/Question/Methods: In agricultural production systems, the use of chemical-based arthropod control remains prevalent despite the negative effects they have on arthropod biodiversity and the environment. Reductions in agricultural reliance on broad spectrum pesticides could occur using information on the association of arthropods with within-field spatial, environmental (e.g. topographic and edaphic) and ecological factors (pest/natural enemy interactions). This information could be used for site-specific management using habitat management, selective insecticides and/or or biological control management schemes to improve integrated pest management practices to optimize diverse populations of beneficial arthropods. To that end, we investigated spider diversity within a 14 ha Mithcanthus × giganteus biofuel crop field in the southeastern Coastal Plain of Georgia, USA, and related this to the environmental factors of elevation, slope, aspect, wind speed and direction, NDVI, edaphic factors, distance to field edge and forest edge, temperature and humidity at 27, circular 10m d sample sites 6 times over 2 years. Spiders were sampled at these sites with pit fall traps that remained in the field for 1 week. Common pest species were sampled with sticky cards that remained in the crop canopy for 1 week and included the phloem-feeding species: thrips, aphids, and whiteflies. Results/Conclusions: A total of 2523 spiders were collected representing 30 species from 12 families: Gnaphosidae, Linyphiidae, Phrurolithidae, Lycosidae, Oxyopidae, Salticidae, Thomisidae, Araneidae, Tetragnathidae, Agelenidae, Corrinidae and Clubonidae. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was used as a measure of spider diversity, and this and spider abundance was related to the environmental factors and pest density. Spider and total pest density associations estimate field control of these pests by spiders. Any strategy which reduces the need for introducing potentially harmful chemicals is an important contribution to protecting native biodiversity and promotes a more sustainable model of pest control to which farmers can aspire.
