Deadwood, Soil and Carabid Beetle-Based Interaction Networks—An Initial Case Study from Montane Coniferous Forests in Poland

Abstract

In four study plots located in silver fir and Scots pine stands in Magura National Park (southeastern Poland), the relationships between the occurrence and biomass of epigeic carabids, the volume of deadwood and soil biochemical properties were investigated. Thirteen carabid beetle species from the genera Abax, Carabus, Molops and Pterostichus were captured. Rare epigeic carabid species in the fauna of Poland and Europe, such as Carabus glabratus (Paykull), Carabus sylvestris (Panzer) and Abax schueppeli (Germar), were recorded. The number of carabid individuals and species captured as well as the mean individual biomass index at different elevations and in forests of different tree compositions differed significantly. There were no correlations between deadwood volume, carabid abundance and the mean individual biomass of the carabid beetles. The mean individual Carabidae biomass increased with elevated pH, soil carbon content, soil dehydrogenase activity and the number of stumps.

Effects of Ground Cover Management, Landscape Elements and Local Conditions on Carabid (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Diversity and Vine Vitality in Temperate Vineyards

“…These findings are supported by the assumption that feeding opportunities increase in denser vegetation, either through the direct provision of seeds or by attracting a more diverse assortment of prey above-and below-ground [36,83]. Our results indicate that an intermediate amount of vegetation cover, provided by the alternating inter-rows, promotes the greatest activity density and highest species richness in comparison to complete vegetation cover or bare ground [84]; this could be related to both the positive effects of greater food availability in the vegetated inter-row, and of more open space for unimpeded movement in the alternate inter-row of the vineyard.…”