Effects of prescribed fire and social insects on saproxylic beetles in a subtropical forest

Abstract

We tested the immediate and delayed effects of a low-intensity prescribed fire on beetles, ants and termites inhabiting log sections cut from moderately decomposed pine trees in the southeastern United States. We also explored co-occurrence patterns among these insects. Half the logs were placed at a site scheduled for a prescribed fire while the rest were assigned to a neighboring site not scheduled to be burned. We then collected insects emerging from sets of logs collected immediately after the fire as well as after 2, 6, 26 and 52 weeks. The fire had little effect on the number of beetles and ants collected although beetle richness was significantly higher in burned logs two weeks after the fire. Both beetle and ant communities differed between treatments, however, with some species preferring either burned or unburned logs. We found no evidence that subterranean termites (Reticulitermes) were influenced by the fire. Based on co-occurrence analysis, positive associations among insect species were over two times more common than negative associations. This difference was significant overall as well for ant × beetle and beetle × beetle associations. Relatively few significant positive or negative associations were detected between termites and the other insect taxa, however.

Post-fire insect fauna explored by crown fermental traps in forests of the European Russia

“…The loss of the litter and upper organic soil layer is an important negative factor for soil-dwelling animals 28 . In contrast, other literature sources demonstrate the positive response of saproxylic insects after a wildfire event 29 – 33 . Only a few publications have studied the post-fire changes in the arthropod fauna including actively mobile insects such as Diptera and Hymenoptera 34 – 41 .…”

Effects of frequency and season of fire on a metapopulation of an imperiled butterfly in a longleaf pine forest

“…While frosted elfin pupae may suffer less direct mortality from prescribed burns when they are in their pupal stage, we would not classify frosted elfins as a “fire‐adapted” species. Some insect species, including some ants, termites, and beetles, are minimally affected by fire (e.g., Ulyshen et al, 2020) and may fit the concept of being “fire‐adapted.” However, most other insect species that live above ground, including all the butterfly species discussed above, are negatively affected by fire for one or more generations. It is more accurate to view such species as fire‐sensitive rather than fire‐adapted (McLauchlan et al, 2020), even if they rely on fire‐adapted resources or inhabit fire‐prone habitats.…”

“…Habitat loss and degradation are driving a staggering decline in insect abundance in many parts of the globe (Hallmann et al, 2017;Cardoso et al, 2020;Klink et al, 2020). To conserve insect populations, land managers will likely have to protect habitat and, occasionally, intervene to maintain the quality of that habitat (Samways, 2007).…”

The importance of termites and fire to dead wood consumption in the longleaf pine ecosystem

“…Stronger synergistic effects may be observed at later stages of decay than observed in this study given that wood ignites and smolders more readily as decomposition proceeds 4 . Another possibility is that termites compensate for reductions in fungal activity following fire 11 given that they are largely unaffected by burns 12 , 21 . Research including multiple burn cycles would help clarify these relationships.…”

“…Fire is also known to change the trajectory of fungal communities in dead wood 10 and can slow decay rates by reducing fungal hyphal lengths as well as fungal activity 11 . Previous studies exploring the impacts of fire on wood-dwelling insects suggest that termites are highly resistant to fire and that low-intensity burns have little effect on wood-dwelling beetle communities 12 , 13 . Although certain forest pests (e.g., bark beetles) are known to increase wildfire risk due to increased fuel loads 14 , little is known about how the activities of insects within dead wood influence fire behavior.…”