Non-crop habitats play a vital role in supporting ground-dwelling arthropod diversity in the agriculture ecosystems. Ground-dwelling arthropods predominantly depend on shelter habitats within agricultural landscapes for survival, reproduction, and overwintering. Nevertheless, the specific functions of these non-crop habitats in maintaining desert-oasis ecosystem dynamics remain insufficiently understood. This study was conducted in the new and old oasis, located in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province. Ground-dwelling arthropods were collected using pitfall trapping from maize fields (MF), irrigation ditches (ID), and forest belts (FB) of the new and old oasis. The results indicated that: (1) Community composition of ground-dwelling arthropods varied substantially between crop and non-crop habitats in the new oasis, whereas the distinction was less marked in the old oasis. (2) There was no significant difference observed in the activity density of ground-dwelling arthropods between MF and ID habitats. However, their activity density significantly higher than in FB during July (P < 0.05). (3) while the activity density of predatory insects follows this general trend, the activity density of herbivorous insects in the ID and FB habitats exceeded that in the MF habitats in both April and October. (4) Aboveground biomass (AGB), soil bulk density (SBD), and total nitrogen (TN) accounted for 14.9 % of the variation of ground-dwelling arthropod community in the new oasis; AGB, SBD, and soil organic carbon (SOC) accounted for 7.8 % of the variation of ground-dwelling arthropod community in the old oasis. Overall, non-crop habitats are essential for maintaining the ground-dwelling arthropod diversity. By supporting seasonal migratory processes that contribute to the effective regulation of farmland landscapes, non-crop habitats enhance biodiversity conservation and management within desert agriculture ecosystems.