Abstract:Spiders play an important role in ecological management and biological control in tea plantations. To better understand differences in the community structure and species diversity in different tea plantations with different habitats and management, three types of tea gardens, i.e., organic, pollution-free, and common gardens, were investigated using vibration and sieving methods to collect falling spiders. A total of 16952 spider specimens that belong to 75 species, 68 genera, and 21 families were collected; 47.72% (20 families and 67 genera) of 8089 specimens were collected from the organic tea garden; 29.60% (20 families and 54 genera) of 5017 specimens, pollution-free tea garden; and 18.10% (18 families and 47 genera) of 3068 specimens, common tea garden. The order of the spider community composition and individuals, from high to low, was as follows:organic tea garden, pollution-free tea garden, and common tea garden. The differences in species diversity and individual numbers were significant among the three types of tea gardens. Clubionidae and Lycosidae were the dominant taxa, and species dominance in Theridiidae, Salticidae, Lycosidae, and Linyphiidae was greater than 10%. The multiple analysis results showed that individual number, species number, species diversity index, species richness index, and evenness index of the spider community were higher in the organic tea garden than in the pollution-free and common tea gardens; the common tea garden showed the lowest values (P < 0.05). Multivariate data analysis showed that the obvious differences in spider community composition between the organic tea garden and common tea garden were large; however, the differences between the pollution-free tea garden and common tea garden were few. In the three types of tea gardens, individual number, species number, species diversity index, richness index, and evenness index were higher in the tea bushes than on the surface, and the order was as follows:organic tea garden, pollution-free tea garden, and common tea garden. Less netting spiders and more wandering spiders were found in the three types of tea plantations. Without the use of chemical pesticides in tea gardens, the complex surrounding habitat and rich vegetation (bamboo, small shrubs, and weeds) could increase species and individual numbers of hunting spiders in tea bushes and the ground, forming an effective buffer zone to improve the microclimate environment and to increase soil surface coverage significantly. In conclusion, the species number and community diversity in organic tea gardens with fine ecological conditions and low human disturbance are obviously higher than those in common tea plantations with a damaged ecosystem and high human disturbance.