Viticulture is one of the oldest and most profitable forms of agriculture; it is also one of the most intensive farming systems. As intensive cultivation threatens the environment, there is increasing interest in the concept of sustainability within the wine industry, as well as new business opportunities, as customers begin to pay more attention to environmental and sustainability issues. Recognizing the key role of soil quality in environmentally and economically sustainable viticulture makes it essential to understand better soil arthropod communities, given their crucial functions in maintaining soil quality and health. The ‘Douro Demarcated Region’ (DDR) in northern Portugal offers good potential, in regards to biodiversity, due to its significant areas of non-crop habitats. This work aims to compile information on soil arthropod communities (both soil surface and soil-living) collected in the DDR vineyard agroecosystems. A description of the ecosystem services provided by them, as a basis for the development and implementation of sustainable viticulture systems, is also an objective of this work. An important set of soil arthropods necessary for the delivery of vital ecosystem services for viticulture, with particular reference to supporting and regulating services, occurred in this ecosystem. Eight classes were chiefly represented in a sample of about 167,000 arthropod specimens: Arachnida, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Entognatha, Insecta, Malacostraca, Pauropoda, and Symphyla. The most representative were Entognatha and Insecta in soil-surface arthropods, and Arachnida and Entognatha in soil-living arthropods. The presence of recognized groups as bioindicators in agroecosystems, such as soil quality indicators, is also revealed. This knowledge is expected to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable management of the viticultural ecosystem.

A comprehensive annotated checklist of the ladybeetle species of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, is presented. The Coccinellidae fauna comprises a total of 101 species: 83 from the Mainland, 39 from Madeira, and 32 from the Azores. The listed species are distributed among 2 sub-families and 13 tribes: within the subfamily Microweiseinae, Madeirodulini (1 species), Serangiini (2 species), and within the subfamily Coccinellinae, Azyini (1 species), Chilocorini (4 species), Coccidulini (7 species), Coccinellini (30 species), Epilachnini (4 species), Hyperaspidini (7 species), Noviini (2 species), Platynaspini (1 species), Scymnini (37 species), Stethorini (3 species), and Sticholotidini (2 species). The Portuguese fauna comprises 10 exotic species: 5 present in the Mainland, 7 in Madeira, and 6 in the Azores. Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773) from Madeira, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Azores, Delphastus catalinae (Horn, 1895) from the Azores and Madeira, Nephus (Geminosipho) reunioni (Fürsch, 1974) and Nephus (Nephus) voeltzkowi Weise, 1910 from Madeira and Microserangium sp. from the Mainland, are reported for the first time. Some species are considered doubtful records, as explained in the text. These results were obtained by compiling information on the available literature regarding ladybeetle species on the Portuguese mainland and insular territories, and original data.

Riparian Ecological Infrastructures are networks of natural and semi-natural riparian areas located in human-dominated landscapes, crucial in supporting processes that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. In this study, we developed a novel multimetric index, termed Habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index (HEIDI), to quantify the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting biodiversity, and related ecosystem services, in three managed landscapes: Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, and Forest Production. Metrics describing the structure, composition, and management of riparian vegetation and associated habitats were used to derive the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting three distinct biological dispersal groups: short-range dispersers (ants), medium-range dispersers (pollinators), and long-range dispersers (birds, bats, and non-flying small mammals). The composition of floristic resources, assessed by identifying trees and shrubs at the species and genus level, and herbaceous plants at the family level, was used as a proxy to evaluate the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in promoting seed dispersal and pollination ecosystem services provided by the three biological communities. Our research evidenced that Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Forest Production and Intensive Agriculture landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest potential for biodiversity-related ecosystem services, respectively. The Forest Production landscape revealed higher suitability of forage resources for short- and medium-range dispersers and a higher landscape coverage by Riparian Ecological Infrastructures, resulting in more potential to create ecological corridors and to provide ecosystem services. The Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Extensive Agriculture landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for supporting long-ranges dispersers, despite providing less habitat for the biological communities. Land-use systems in the proximity of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures should be sustainably managed to promote riparian vegetation composition and structural quality, as well as the riparian width, safeguarding biodiversity, and the sustainable provision of biodiversity-related ecosystem services.

The invasion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) can alter the entire ecosystem with serious impacts on the native community structure (e.g., ant diversity) and processes (e.g., trophic interactions) leading to biodiversity loss and pest outbreaks. Most studies addressing these impacts have been conducted in natural or semi-natural areas, few are those conducted in agricultural ecosystems, such as citrus orchards. These are dominant agricultural ecosystems in Mediterranean landscapes. Furthermore, most studies have been conducted in a short span, not evidencing seasonal fluctuations. In this work, we assessed the ecological impact of the Argentine ant on the native ant communities in citrus orchards, in the region of Algarve, southern Portugal. By using principal response curve, we compared seasonal variation on ant assemblages in invaded and uninvaded citrus orchards foraging on tree canopy from a two-year sampling. The Argentine ant had a marked negative impact on the native ant community foraging on citrus canopy. In the uninvaded orchards, the native ant community had a rich assemblage composed of 16 ant species, in its majority (72%) controlled by the dominant species Lasius grandis Forel, Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander) and/or Pheidole pallidula (Nylander). In the invaded orchards, the native ant community was poorer and highly modified, mostly dominated by the Argentine ant (80%). Apparently, the only native ant species not affected by the presence of the Argentine ant was Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille). A significant negative effect was found between the proportion of infested trees by L. humile and the number of native ant species per orchard. Differences in the native ant community in the invaded and uninvaded orchards persisted over seasons and years. However, negative impacts were higher in the spring and summer, and less pronounced in the autumn. We discuss implications for citrus pest management.

In this study, we assess the potential of ants as bioindicators of riparian ecological health in two river types (upland and lowland type) located in the Catalonian region. We proposed to understand to what extent do metrics based on ant responses provide useful information that cannot be presented by traditional biophysical assessments while attempting an approach to creating an ant-based multimetric index (ant-based MMI) of the riparian ecological health. A total of 22 ant species were identified, and 42 metrics related to ant foraging activity, species richness, and functional traits were evaluated as potential core metrics of the index. Riparian features and proximal land use land cover (LULC) were used to distinguish disturbed from less disturbed sites. We found that ant communities strongly responded to human disturbance. When compared with an exclusively physical-based index for the assessment of the riparian health, the ant-based MMI was more sensitive to human disturbance, by also reacting to the effects of the surrounding LULC pressure. This study provides a preliminary approach for an ant-based assessment tool to evaluate the health of riparian corridors although additional research is required to include other river types and a wider stressor gradient before a wider application.