Soil & Water Res., 2026, 21(3):191-202 | DOI: 10.17221/64/2026-SWR

Impact of soil-conserving strip cropping on ground beetle communitiesOriginal Paper

Lukáš Puch ORCID..., Bořivoj Šarapatka ORCID..., Ivan Hadrián Tuf ORCID...
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc

Soil-conserving strip cropping is increasingly promoted as an effective measure to reduce water erosion on sloping arable land, yet its consequences for biodiversity remain insufficiently understood. We evaluated the effects of strip cropping on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities during two growing seasons (2023–2024) in South Moravia (Czech Republic), comparing long-term strip-cropped fields with conventionally managed monocultures. Ground beetles were sampled using pitfall traps, and differences in diversity, activity density, and species composition were analysed using univariate statistics, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), and generalised additive models (GAMs). Strip cropping consistently supported higher ground beetle diversity than conventional management, while significantly higher activity density became evident after longer implementation. Furthermore, this management enhanced diversity at upper erosional positions, indicating reduced environmental stress. Species-specific analyses showed that several xerophilous and conservation-relevant species were associated with habitats promoted by strip cropping. Our findings demonstrate that the ecological benefits of strip cropping extend beyond erosion control. By increasing within-field habitat heterogeneity and improving conditions for ground beetle assemblages, strip cropping simultaneously supports biodiversity and soil conservation. These results highlight its potential as a multifunctional management practice capable of reconciling agricultural production with biodiversity conservation in erosion-prone landscapes.

Keywords: carabids; crop diversification; epigeic arthropods; polycultures

Received: May 19, 2026; Accepted: August 20, 2026; Prepublished online: September 17, 2026; Published: September 24, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Puch L, Šarapatka B, Tuf IH. Impact of soil-conserving strip cropping on ground beetle communities. Soil and Water Research. 2026;21(3):191-202. doi: 10.17221/64/2026-SWR.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    Supplementary files:

    Download file64-2026_SWR_Tuf_ESM.pdf

    File size: 173.42 kB

    References

    1. Alarcón-Segura V., Grass I., Breustedt G., Rohlfs M., Tscharntke T. (2022): Strip intercropping of wheat and oilseed rape enhances biodiversity and biological pest control in a conventionally managed farm scenario. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59: 1513-1523. Go to original source...
    2. Aldebron C., Jones M.S., Snyder W.E., Blubaugh C.K. (2020): Soil organic matter links organic farming to enhanced predator evenness. Biological Control, 146: 104278. Go to original source...
    3. Anjum-Zubair M.M., Schmidt-Entling H., Querner P., Frank T. (2010): Influence of within-field position and adjoining habitat on carabid beetle assemblages in winter wheat. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 12: 301-306. Go to original source...
    4. Atlavinytė O., Kuginyte Z., Pileckis S. (1974): Erosion effect on soil fauna under different crops. Pedobiologia, 14: 35-40. Go to original source...
    5. Baxter C., Rowan J.S., Mckenzie B.M., Neilson R. (2013): Understanding soil erosion impacts in temperate agroecosystems: Bridging the gap between geomorphology and soil ecology using nematodes as a model organism. Biogeosciences, 10: 7133-7145. Go to original source...
    6. Benton T.G., Bryant D.M., Cole L., Crick Humphrey Q.P. (2002): Linking agricultural practice to insect and bird populations: A historical study over three decades. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39: 673-687. Go to original source...
    7. Boetzl F.A., Krimmer E., Krauss J., Steffan-Dewenter I., Lewis O. (2018): Agri-environmental schemes promote ground-dwelling predators in adjacent oilseed rape fields: Diversity, species traits and distance-decay functions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56: 10-20. Go to original source...
    8. Cadet P., Albergel J. (1999): Passive transport of phytoparasitic nematodes by runoff water in the Sudano-Sahelian climatic area. Journal of Hydrology, 214: 91-102. Go to original source...
    9. Cuperus F., Allema B., Bianchi F.J.J.A., Rossing W.A.H., van Apeldoorn D.F. (2024): Cauliflower strip cropping promotes ground-dwelling arthropod richness and spider abundance. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 374: 109137. Go to original source...
    10. Ditzler L., van Apeldoorn D.F., Schulte R.P.O., Tittonell P., Rossing W.A.H. (2021): Redefining the field to mobilize three-dimensional diversity and ecosystem services on the arable farm. European Journal of Agronomy, 122: 126197. Go to original source...
    11. Doetterl S., Berhe A.A., Nadeu E., Wang Z., Sommer M., Fiener P. (2016): Erosion, deposition and soil carbon: A review of process-level controls, experimental tools and models to address C cycling in dynamic landscapes. Earth-Science Reviews, 154: 102-122. Go to original source...
    12. Dumbrovský M., Šarapatka B. (2023): Strip Cropping as an Anti-erosion and Adaptation Measure in Land Consolidation: Certified Methodology. Olomouc, Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci. (in Czech)
    13. Elmquist D.C., Kahl K.B., Johnson-Maynard J.L., Eigenbrode S.D. (2023): Linking agricultural diversification practices, soil arthropod communities and soil health. Journal of Applied Ecology, 60: 1952-1963. Go to original source...
    14. FAO (2025): World Food and Agriculture - Statistical Yearbook 2025. Rome, FAO.
    15. Gaba S., Bretagnolle F., Rigaud T., Philippot L. (2014): Managing biotic interactions for ecological intensification of agroecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2: 29. Go to original source...
    16. Guerra C.A., Rosa I.M.D., Valentini E., Wolf F., Filipponi F., Karger D.N., Xuan A.N., Mathieu J., Lavelle P., Eisenhauer N. (2020): Global vulnerability of soil ecosystems to erosion. Landscape Ecology, 35: 823-842. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. Holland J.M., Luff M.L. (2000): The effects of agricultural practices on Carabidae in temperate agroecosystems. Integrated Pest Management Reviews, 5: 109-129. Go to original source...
    18. Hůrka K. (1996): Carabidae of the Czech and Slovak Republics: Carabidae České a Slovenské republiky. Zlín, Kabourek.
    19. IPBES (2019): Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Bonn, IPBES Secretariat.
    20. Jaureguiberry P., Titeux N., Wiemers M., Bowler D.E., Coscieme L., Coscieme L., Golden A.S., Guerra C.A., Jacob U., Takahashi Y., Settele J., Díaz S., Molnár Z., Purvis A. (2022): The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss. Science Advances. 8: 45. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. Jowett K., Milne A.E., Metcalfe H., Hassall K.L., Potts S.G., Senapathi D., Storkeya J. (2019): Species matter when considering landscape effects on carabid distributions. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 285: 106631. Go to original source...
    22. Kleijn D., Kohler F., Báldi A., Batáry P., Concepción E.D., Clough Y., Díaz M., Gabriel D., Holzschuh A., Knop E., Kovács A., Marshall E.J.P., Tscharntke T., Verhulst J. (2009): On the relationship between farmland biodiversity and land-use intensity in Europe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276: 903-909. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    23. Kopittke P.M., Menzies N.W., Wang P., Mckenna B.A., Lombi E. (2019): Soil and the intensification of agriculture for global food security. Environment International, 132: 105078. Go to original source...
    24. Lal R. (2003): Soil erosion and the global carbon budget. Environment International, 29: 437-450. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    25. Le Provost G., Thiele J., Westphal C., Penone C., Allan E., Neyret M., van der Plas F., Ayasse M., Bardgett R.D., Birkhofer K., Boch S., Bonkowski M., Buscot F., Feldhaar H., Gaulton R., Goldmann K., Gossner M.M., Klaus V.H., Kleinebecker T., Krauss J., Renner S., Scherreiks P., Sikorski J., Baulechner D., Blüthgen N., Bolliger R., Börschig C., Busch V., Chisté M., Fiore-Donno A.M., Fischer M., Arndt H., Hoelzel N., John K., Jung K., Lange M., Marzini C., Overmann J., Paŝalić E., Perović D. J., Prati D., Schäfer D., Schöning I., Schrumpf M., Sonnemann I., Steffan-Dewenter I., Tschapka M., Türke M., Vogt J., Wehner K., Weiner C., Weisser W., Wells K., Werner M., Wolters V., Wubet T., Wurst S., Zaitsev A.S., Manning P. (2021): Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity. Nature Communications, 12: 3918. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    26. Lindroth C.H., Adis J., Erwin T.L. (eds.) (1992): Ground Beetles (Carabidae) of Fennoscandia: A Zoogeographic Study. Washington, D.C., Amerind Publishing Co.
    27. Lompe A. (2025): Die Käfer Europas: Ein Bestimmungswerk im Internet. Coleonet. Available at https://coleonet.de/coleo/index.htm
    28. Luff M.L. (2002): Carabid assemblage organization and species composition. In: Holland J.M. (ed): The Agroecology of Carabid Beetles. Andover, Intercept: 41-79.
    29. MacLeod A., Wratten S.D., Sotherton N.W., Thomas M.B. (2004): 'Beetle banks' as refuges for beneficial arthropods in farmland: Long-term changes in predator communities and habitat. Agricultural and Forest Entomology, 6: 147-154. Go to original source...
    30. Meyer S. (2020): The status of arable plant habitats in Central Europe. In: Hurford C., Wilson P., Storkey J. (eds.): The Changing Status of Arable Habitats in Europe. Cham, Springer International Publishing: 55-73. Go to original source...
    31. Molina G.A.R., Poggio S.L., Ghersa C.M. (2014): Epigeal arthropod communities in intensively farmed landscapes: Effects of land use mosaics, neighbourhood heterogeneity, and field position. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 192: 135-143. Go to original source...
    32. MoA (2026): Report on the State of Agriculture in the Czech Republic for 2025. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. Availabel at https://mze.gov.cz/public/portal/mze/publikace/publikace-zemedelstvi/zpravy-o-stavu-zemedelstvi/zelena-zprava-2025 (in Czech)
    33. Oksanen J., Simpson G., Blanchet F., Kindt R., Legendre P., Minchin P., O'Hara R., Solymos P., Stevens M., Szoecs E., Wagner H., Bedward M., Bolker B., Borcard D., Carvalho G., De Caceres M., Durand S., Evangelista H., Hannigan G., Hill M., Lahti L., Martino C., Ouellette M., Ribeiro Cunha E., Smith T., Stier A., Ter Braak C., Weedon J. (2026): vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.8-0. Available at https://github.com/vegandevs/vegan
    34. Orgiazzi A., Panagos P. (2018): Soil biodiversity and soil erosion: It is time to get married. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 27: 1155-1167. Go to original source...
    35. Pietrasko R., de Clercq R. (1982): Influence of organic matter on epigeic arthropods. Mededelingen van de Faculteit Landbouwwetenschappen Universiteit Gent, 47: 721-728.
    36. Pimentel D., Kounang N. (1998): Ecology of soil erosion in ecosystems. Ecosystems, 1: 416-426. Go to original source...
    37. Priyadarshana T.S., Lee M.B., Ascher J.S., Qiu L., Goodale E. (2021): Crop heterogeneity is positively associated with beneficial insect diversity in subtropical farmlands. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58: 2747-2759. Go to original source...
    38. Randall N.P., Smith B. (2020): Biodiversity. In: Randall N.P., Smith B. (eds.): The Biology of Agroecosystems. The Biology of Habitats. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 27-44. Go to original source...
    39. Rigal S., Dakos V., Alonso H., Auniņš A., Benkő Z., Brotons L., Chodkiewicz T., Chylarecki P., de Carli E., del Moral J.C., Domşa C., Escandell V., Fontaine B., Foppen R., Gregory R., Harris S., Herrando S., Husby M., Ieronymidou C., Jiguet F., Kennedy J., Klvaňová A., Kmecl P., Kuczyński L., Kurlavičius P., Kålås J. A., Lehikoinen A., Lindström Å., Lorrillière R., Moshøj C., Nellis R., Noble D., Palm Eskildsen D., Paquet J.-Y., Pélissié M., Pladevall C., Portolou D., Reif J., Schmid H., Seaman B., Szabo Z.D., Szép T., Tellini Florenzano G., Teufelbauer N., Trautmann S., van Turnhout C., Vermouzek Z., Vikstrøm T., Voříšek P., Weiserbs A., Devictor V. (2023): Farmland practices are driving bird population decline across Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120: e2216573120. Go to original source...
    40. Robinson R.A., Sutherland W.J. (2002): Post-war changes in arable farming and biodiversity in Great Britain. Journal of Applied Ecology, 39: 157-176. Go to original source...
    41. Šarapatka B., Puch L., Chmelík V., Machač O., Tajovský K., Bednář M., Netopil P., Tuf I.H. (2026): Soil transport by water erosion affects the distribution of ground-dwelling invertebrates in Chernozem agricultural landscapes. Agriculture, 16: 676. Go to original source...
    42. Sirami C., Gross N., Baillod A.B., Bertrand C., Carrié R., Hass A., Henckel L., Miguet P., Vuillot C., Alignier A., Girard J., Batáry P., Clough Y., Violle C., Giralt D., Bota G., Badenhausser I., Lefebvre G., Gauffre B., Vialatte A., Calatayud F., Gil-Tena A., Tischendorf L., Mitchell S., Lindsay K., Georges R., Hilaire S., Recasens J., Solé-Senan X.O., Robleño I., Bosch J., Barrientos J.A., Ricarte A., Marcos-Garcia M.Á., Miñano J., Mathevet R., Gibon A., Baudry J., Balent G., Poulin B., Burel F., Tscharntke T., Bretagnolle V., Siriwardena G., Ouin A., Brotons L., Martin J.-L., Fahrig L. (2019): Increasing crop heterogeneity enhances multitrophic diversity across agricultural regions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116: 16442-16447. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    43. Šmilauer P., Lepš J. (2014): Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data using Canoco 5. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Go to original source...
    44. Smith V., Bohan D.A., Clark S.J., Haughton A.J., Bell J.R., Heard M.S. (2008): Weed and invertebrate community compositions in arable farmland. Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 2: 21-30. Go to original source...
    45. Stoate C., Boatman N.D., Borralho R.J., Rio Carvalho C., de Snoo G.R., Eden P. (2001): Ecological impacts of arable intensification in Europe. Journal of Environmental Management, 63: 337-365. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    46. Tsiafouli M.A., Thébault E., Sgardelis S.P., de Ruiter P.C., van der Putten W.H., Birkhofer K., Hemerik L., de Vries F.T., Bardgett R.D., Brady M.V., Bjornlund L., Jørgensen H.B., Christensen S., D' Hertefeldt T., Hotes S., Hol W.H.G., Frouz J., Liiri M., Mortimer S.R., Setälä H., Tzanopoulos J., Uteseny K., Pižl V., Stary J., Wolters V., Hedlund K. (2015): Intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity across Europe. Global Change Biology, 21: 973-985. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    47. Tucker G., Pain D.J., Pienkowski M.W. (1997): Priorities for bird conservation in Europe: The importance of the farmed landscape. In: Farming and Birds in Europe. The Common Agricultural Policy and Its Implications for Bird Conservation. San Diego, Academic Press: 79-116.
    48. Tuf I.H., Chmelík V., Machač O., Šarapatka B., Čáp L. (2015): Effect of water erosion on surface-dwelling invertebrates. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae, 79, 261-266.
    49. Veselý M., Šarapatka B. (2008): Effects of conversion to organic farming on carabid beetles (Carabidae) in experimental fields in the Czech Republic. Biological Agriculture & Horticulture, 25: 289-309. Go to original source...
    50. Vician V., Svitok M., Kočík K., Stašiov S. (2015): The influence of agricultural management on the structure of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages. Biologia, 70: 240-251. Go to original source...
    51. Wagner D.L. (2020): Insect declines in the Anthropocene. Annual Review of Entomology, 65: 457-480. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    52. Wall D., Nielsen U., Six J. (2015): Soil biodiversity and human health. Nature, 528: 69-76. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    53. Wickham H. (2016): ggplot2: Elegant Graphics for Data Analysis. New York, Springer-Verlag. Go to original source...
    54. Wickham H., François R., Henry L., Müller K., Vaughan D. (2026): dplyr: A Grammar of Data Manipulation. R Package Version 1.2.1. Available at https://dplyr.tidyverse.org

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content