Database of invertebrates under specific pesticide management

Database of invertebrates under specific pesticide management Contributors: Milan Řezáč, Markéta Mayerová, Barbora Ďurajková, Veronika Řezáčová Affiliation: Czech Agrifood Research Center, Drnovská 507/73, CZ-160 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic Terrestrial arthropods such as spiders, beetles and isopods form an essential component of agroecosystems, where they contribute to key ecological processes including predation, decomposition and the regulation of soil–surface trophic interactions. Despite their importance for ecosystem functioning and natural pest control, the responses of these arthropod assemblages to agricultural chemical inputs remain insufficiently characterized. While many studies have focused on pesticide effects on selected indicator species or narrowly defined functional groups, far less is known about how broad-spectrum field applications of herbicides and insecticides influence the taxonomic composition, abundance and community structure of epigeic and soil-associated arthropods. In this dataset, we present field records of spiders, beetles and isopods collected from two field experiments with controlled applications of herbicides and an insecticide. Arthropods were collected using established sampling methods, sorted into major taxa and identified. The dataset provides a basis for assessing community-level responses of non-target organisms - arthropods to pesticide treatments under real field conditions and supports further research on biodiversity dynamics in agricultural landscapes. Database of invertebrates contribute to the realization of the project´s goal to identify appropriate and inappropriate pesticides from the point of the view of their impact on the non-target organisms and soil characteristics. The database consists of two separate files according to the experimental field "Field I and Field II", which are systematically arranged into separate sheets, monitored taxonomic groups and method of data collection. Each row represents a record of the occurrence of a specific taxon at a given collection point. The columns contain the taxonomic designation of the species ("binomial name", or "family"), the collection point number and further hierarchically arranged data according to the year of collection, collection method, treatment variants of the experimental area and the collection time (before/after insecticide treatment). The values in the data cells represent the numbers of individuals detected. This structure allows for comparison of the species composition and abundance of taxa between the experimental fields Field I and Field II, collection points, years, collection methods, treatments and collection dates. Field I. The field experiment was established in 2024 in the experimental area of the Czech Agrifood Research Center in Prague – Ruzyně (previously Crop Research Institute). The trial area was split into 20 randomised plots with 2 different herbicide treatments in 8 replications and control without herbicides in 4 replications. Herbicide treatments differed in the mode of action and target weeds (Table 1). Winter wheat was grown in the experimental field in 2024 and spring barley in 2025. Table 1. Summary of the herbicides and active ingredients used in the trial. Classification Group by Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC). Herbicide Dose Formulation Active ingredient Content of a.i. Mode of action Legacy HRAC code Agritox 50 SL 1.5 l/ha EC MCPA 500 g/l 4 O Glean 75 PX (2024) 15 g/ha WG chlorsulfuron 750 g/kg 2 B Tribenuron methyl (2025) 18.75 g/ha WG tribenuron methyl 750 g/kg 2 B The area of each plot was 100 m2 and the 10 by 10 m plots were separated from field boundaries and from each other by 2 m on all sides to eliminate interaction between plots. Herbicides were applied post emergency in spring (April 26, 2024; May 19, 2025) from the tillering crop stage to the beginning of stem elongation (BBCH 21–31) by the Agrio-Napa 12 sprayer. At the beginning of March, it was mineral fertilized with LAD (ammonium nitrate with dolomite - NH4NO3 + CaMg (CO3)2; 27 % N) at a dose 100 kg/ha. Epigeic arthropods were monitored using pitfal traps. These were plastic cups filled with a fixative solution (a 50% aqueous solution of environmentally harmless propylene glycol with a few drops of detergent) buried up to their openings in the ground. They were fitted with a grid cage to prevent vertebrates from entering. Two traps were placed on each repetition. Epiphytic arthropods were monitored using entomological sweep net. Twenty sweep nets were performed on each area. These collections were carried out, depending on the weather, either on the day the traps were installed or on the day they were collected. Traps and sweep nets were installed after herbicide treatment on April 29, 2024, and May 19, 2025, and were subsequently selected on May 6, 2025, and May 26, 2025. All bioindicatively significant groups of invertebrates were sorted from the samples. Field II The field experiment was established in 2024 in the experimental area of the Czech Agrifood Research Center in Prague – Ruzyně (previously Crop Research Institute). The total area of the experiment is about 11 ha including the protective area around the entire experiment. The experimental area is divided into two halves, 120m wide and 300m long. One half was treated with insecticide Decis forte (active ingredient deltamethrin) at a dose 62.5 ml/ha on the following dates: June 17, 2024, and June 3, 2025. The other half was without insecticide treatment. Both areas are further divided into other halves. One half was treated with herbicide Agritox (active ingredient MCPA) at a dose 1.5l/ha on the following dates: May 15, 2024, and April 23, 2025. The other was treated with hoeing only. We thus obtained 4 strips 60m wide with following treatment combinations: (A) herbicide + insecticide; (B) hoeing + insecticide; (C) hoeing; (D) herbicide. Spring wheat was grown in the experimental field in 2024 and winter triticale in 2025. It was fertilized with mineral nitrogen at a dose of 150 kg N/ha before sowing and with 39 kg N/ha (DAM 390 - ammonium nitrate with urea) in the tillering phenophase. In the middle of each strip (i.e. treatment), 8 sampling sites were marked in a row, 20 m apart from each other. Epigeic arthropods were monitored using pitfal traps. These were plastic cups filled with a fixative solution (a 50% aqueous solution of environmentally harmless propylene glycol with a few drops of detergent) buried up to their openings in the ground. They were fitted with a grid cage to prevent vertebrates from entering. One trap was placed at each sampling point. Epiphytic arthropods were monitored using entomological sweep nets. Twenty sweep nets were performed on each area. These collections were carried out, depending on the weather, either on the day the traps were installed or on the day they were collected. In 2024, traps and sweep nets were installed after herbicide treatment on May 15, and after insecticide treatment on June 18, and were subsequently selected on May 24, and on June 24. In 2025, traps and sweep nets were installed after herbicide treatment on April 23, and after insecticide treatment on June 3, and were subsequently selected on April 30, and on June 10. All bioindicatively significant groups of invertebrates were sorted from the samples. Funding: Development for this work is funded primarily by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, project SS07020100: “The impact of plant protection products on non-target biodiversity: soil microorganisms, invertebrates and wild plants”, and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, institutional support MZE-RO0426.