Résumé
Oribatid mites play a major role in soil functioning, facilitating decomposition and nutrient cycling. This study aims to assess the effect of agricultural practices on oribatid mite communities in mediterranean vineyards (Hérault) in the context of the agroecological transition. In autumn 2023, soil samples were collected from 30 plots across various production systems (conventional and organic, different vegetation cover management practices, varying levels of soil aggregate stability, and other agricultural practices), as well as in garrigue vegetation. A total of 9 soil samples were collected per plot within the 0-5cm soil layer using a 9 cm diameter cylinder. Arthropods were extracted using a modified Berlese-Tullgren funnel and counted. A total of 7,562 oribatids was collected. The abundance was analysed by fitting a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) with a Negative Binomial distribution for each explanatory variable. The highest oribatid abundance was found in the soils of garrigue vegetation (mean of 59.83), significantly differing from the vineyards (mean of 23.44 and 12.23 for organic and conventional, respectively). Despite no significant difference being found between oribatid abundance in soils under conventional and organic systems, differences between the vegetation cover management were observed. Higher abundances were found in soils with permanent cover crops than in bare soils. The Oribatid numbers was also the highest in soils with the highest stability levels. These results highlight the impact of agricultural practices on oribatid communities, emphasizing the need for further studies on species richness and population dynamics to better understand the effect on functional diversity.