Comparing our results to previous studies in wetlands or riparian habitats poses certain challenges. For instance, studies in floodplains by Jachertz et al. (2019) suggest that carabids can serve as reliable indicator species across different substrates (see also Gerisch, Schanowski, Figura, Gerken, Dziock and Henle 2006), whereas carabids in our study did not vary with any variable. However, in that study, the key indicator species among carabids belonged toBembidion, a common group of riparian species that is entirely absent in our fen. Additionally, the seasonal flooding patterns in floodplains differ markedly from those in fens, potentially leading to distinct effects on arthropod community. A similar discrepancy was also evident when comparing our findings to our previous studies (Åhlén, Hedman, Jarsjö, Klatt, Schneider, Strand, Tack, Åhlén and Hambäck 2024). In that study, similar to the present research, we found that Staphylinidae had lower densities in wetlands with more frequent inundation events, but in contrast, the responses of Linyphiidae differed between the two studies. These differences may be attributed to the contrasting wetland structures and possibly to differences in flooding patterns. The study by Åhlén et al. (2024) examined 41 constructed wetlands, where the riparian zones were relatively limited, and terrestrial habitats were often located within 10 m of the sampling site. These constructed wetlands differ significantly from the current study’s setting – a much larger fen where true terrestrial habitats are often more than 100 m away from sampling sites. Moreover, habitat size in the previous study was highly variable, a factor shown to influence the proportion of wetland specialists (Åhlén, Jarsjö, Jonsell, Klatt, Schneider, Strand and Hambäck 2024).