The role of tropical forest fragment vegetation in maintaining arthropod diversity and spillover to adjacent sugarcane fields

The degradation of forests in tropical agricultural landscapes has reduced biodiversity and may negatively affect ecosystem services. However, the role of forest fragments in the provision of ecosystem services for agroecosystems, such as biological control, is still not well understood. This study analyses the relationship between tree diversity and arthropod communities in forest fragments and adjacent sugarcane fields around Jaboticabal (São Paulo, Brazil) to evaluate the benefits of preserving Atlantic Forest fragments. We tested the hypotheses: (1) arthropod diversity and the abundance of key functional groups are favoured by tree diversity, (2) diversity and abundance of these functional groups in sugarcane fields depend on adjacent forests, and (3) the insect community composition of forest fragments and sugarcane fields is similar due to spillover effects. Arthropods were sampled in ten forest fragments over two years (2020 and 2022) using traps (Malaise, yellow pan) and direct ..., The study was conducted in 10 fragments of Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) and adjacent sugarcane fields in the municipality of Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. Five fragments were located on shallow slopes (plateau fragments) and five were remnants of riparian forest close to rivers and streams (gallery fragments). Plateau fragments typically exhibited a higher cover of shrub and liana species compared to river valley fragments. River valley fragments are protected as Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), in particular to preserve the water quality of piped water catchment areas. Arthropods were sampled in April 2020 and in August 2022, using direct and indirect (trap) collection methods. Three fragments had to be replaced in 2022 due to access problems and forest fires. In each forest fragment, we collected data in a randomly selected 50 m x 20 m plot, 5 m from the edge. Arthropods were also sampled in sugarcane fields adjacent to the forest fragments.
In 2020, a preliminary stud..., # Data from: The role of tropical forest fragment vegetation in maintaining arthropod diversity and spillover to adjacent sugarcane fields

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.c866t1gjv](10.5061/dryad.c866t1gjv)

##### This dataset contains arthropod sampling and vegetation data collected in 2020 and 2022 in forest fragments and adjacent sugarcane fields in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil.

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FILES AND DESCRIPTION

1\. 2020_-_Arthropod_collection.csv

\- Arthropod abundance by morphospecies, collected by direct sampling of branches in forest fragments in 2020.

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• Plot: sampling plot ID
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• SubPlot: one of the 4 selected points in each plot

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• Arthropod_Order: The order of collected arthropods

• Arthropod_Family: The family of collected arthropods

• Morphospecies: code assigned to each arthropod morphospecies
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2\. 2020_-_Plot_information.csv

\- Data on forest vegetation, arthropods and quality index of the 2020 collection.

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• Plot: sampling plot ID

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