The Structure of Saproxylic Beetle Assemblages in View of Coarse Woody Debris Resources in Pine Stands of Western Poland

Autor: Robert Kuźmiński, Roman Jaszczak, Krzysztof Adamowicz, Hanna Kwaśna, Andrzej Mazur, Radosław Witkowski, Janusz Szmyt, Andrzej Łabędzki, Piotr Łakomy, Mieczysław Turski
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Forests
Volume 12
Issue 11
Forests, Vol 12, Iss 1558, p 1558 (2021)
ISSN: 1999-4907
DOI: 10.3390/f12111558
Popis: Background: Resources of dying and dead trees, decaying fragments of stems, stumps and branches, i.e., coarse woody debris (CWD), are an important structural element of biocenoses and are drivers of biodiversity. The aim of this study was to describe assemblages of saproxylic beetles in pine stands of western Poland in view of dead wood resources. We present faunistic (species identity) and quantitative (species and individual counts) data from two types of stands: 1. unmanaged pine stands, in which no trees have been extracted for over 30 years, with processes connected with tree dying and self-thinning of stands being undisturbed, 2. managed pine stands, in which routine tending operations extracting trees are performed in accordance with forest management plans and naturally dying trees are removed in the course of tending and sanitary logging
Methods: Beetles were captured in the years 2013–2014 using window flight traps. Assemblages of saproxylic beetles were assessed based on the indices of dominance, diversity (the Shannon–Weiner index), and species richness (Margalef’s index) as well as the estimated habitat fidelity index, feeding habits, and zoogeographical distribution. Similarity between the assemblages was evaluated applying cluster analysis. Dependence between dead wood resources and the diversity and species richness indices were analysed
Results: A total of 2006 individuals classified to 216 species were captured. Assemblages show considerable similarity on the local scale. Higher values of species diversity indicators were observed in unmanaged stands, in which no sanitation cuttings are performed
Conclusions: The decision to refrain from sanitation logging in pine monocultures results in increased CWD resources, which nevertheless does not lead to a marked increase in the values of biodiversity indicators. Unmanaged stands were characterised by a high share of zoophagous, mycetophagous, and saproxylic species. In contrast, managed stands were characterised by a high share of xylophagous beetles.
Databáze: OpenAIRE