The distribution patterns and temporal dynamics of carabid beetles(Coleoptera:Carabidae)in the forests of Jiaohe,Jilin Province,China

Carabid beetles,predatory insects,are abundant in forests and sensitive to environmental changes.The distribution patterns and diversity of carabid beetles in several natural forests were studied to provide a basis for evaluating the importance of a forest in the protection of carabid beetle diversity.Carabids were captured by pitfall traps during their seasonal activity from 2012 to 2013 in a poplar-birch forest,ash-walnut forest and broad-leaved Korean pine forest.A total of 5252 individuals,representing 21 species,were collected.Carabid abundance was highest in the broad-leaved Korean pine forest and lowest in the ash-walnut forest.Carabus billbergi Mannerheim and Pterostichus pertinax(Tschitscherine)were the dominant beetle species in each stand.Carabus canaliculatus Adams was dominant in the poplar-birch and ash-walnut forests,and Leistus niger Gebler was dominant in the ash-walnut forest.The carabids were affected differently by stand factors.C.billbergi and P.pertinax was positively correlated with mean DBH.C.canaliculatus and L.niger were not positively correlated with any stand factors.The broad-leaved Korean pine forest with greater age,large DBH and thick leaf litter fostered a high diversity of carabid species.The main yearly activity period for most carabids was during July.Different carabid species responded differently to seasonality,and the activity period of several species was relatively late(August)in the year.

Effect of spot burning of logging residues on the properties of mountain forest soils and the occurrence of ground beetles(Coleoptera, Carabidae)

We investigated the relationships between dehydrogenase activity and the physicochemical properties of mountain soils over three and five years from Norway spruce(Picea abies L. Karst) logging residue spot burning and the occurrence of epigeic carabid beetles. Six study sites were utilised, including18 study plots(nine plots in a mixed coniferous mountain forest site and nine plots in a mixed broadleaf mountain forest site), with five replicate pitfall traps at each site located in southern Poland.Soil samples from the organic horizon were taken for p H, organic carbon, nitrogen, base cation content,acidity and dehydrogenase activity determination.Carabid beetles were monitored in weekly intervals during the period of July to August 2016. The burning of logging residues led to modified soil properties,especially the dehydrogenase activity. In all the tested variants, the activity was higher in soil samples after the burning in comparison to the control variants. We show no positive correlation between dehydrogenase activity and the number of carabid specimens. The preferences of dominant predatory hygrophilous carabids to acid habitats with weakly decomposed organic matter were proven. Simultaneously, the soil organic matter content was positively related to the carabid abundance. The significant impact of forest site conditions and the date of logging residue burning on the number of caught specimens were confirmed. In contrast, no relationships between the species richness, species diversity, mean individual biomass and spot burning effect were found. This work supports the recommendation of spruce fine woody debris utilisation by spot burning on mountain regions with rich habitats presenting moderate wet conditions and small land falls.

Simulating small-scale climate change effects-lessons from a short-term field manipulation experiment on grassland arthropods

Climate change is expected to cause major consequences on biodiversity. Understanding species-specific reactions, such as species shifts, species declines, and changes in population dynamics is a key issue to quantify large-scale impacts of climate change on biotic communities. As it is often impossible or at least impracticable to conduct large-scale experiments on biotic responses to climate change, studies at a smaller scale may be a useful alternative. In our study, we therefore tested responses of grassland arthropods （carabid beetles, spiders, grasshoppers） to simulated climate change in terms of species activity densities and diversity. We conducted a controlled field experiment by changing water and microclimatic conditions at a small scale （16 m2）. Roof constructions were used to increase drought-like conditions, whereas water supply was enhanced by irrigation. In all, 2 038 carabid beetles （36 species）, 4 893 spiders （65 species）, and 303 Orthoptera （4 species） were caught using pitfall traps from May to August, 2010. During our experiment, we created an artificial small-scale climate change; and statistics revealed that these changes had short-term effects on the total number of individuals and Simpson diversity of the studied arthropod groups. Moreover, our results showed that certain species might react very quickly to climate change in terms of activity densities, which in turn might influence diversity due to shifts in abundance patterns. Finally, we devised methodological improvements that may further enhance the validity of future studies.