Effect of ecological management on arthropod community structure and diversity in hilly tea plantation

The experiment was conducted in the tea plantations of Yuanbaoshan Tea Company, Rongshui County, Guangxi to study ecological management of tea plantation on arthropod community structure and diversity. The results show that arthropod community composition increases by 15 families and 84 species under ecological management, compared with conventional tea plantation management. Individual amounts of pest population decrease by 55.9% and natural enemies increase by 188.4%. Tea plantation species richness, Shannon-Wiener index and Pielou index are significantly higher under ecological management than those under conventional management. However, Simpson index and Gowe index are significantly lower under ecological management compared with those under conventional management. The mode of ecological management could improve and restore arthropod community diversity in tea plantations. This mode is readily available for the realization of effective ecological control of tea pests