Life traits of ground beetle assemblages of spruce forests in
north-eastern Poland
Abstract
Assemblages of epigeic ground beetles living in spruce forests in three
age ranges: 20-30 years (A); 40-50 years (B); 70-80 years (C) were
submitted for research. The investigations were carried out in spruce
forests in north-eastern Poland. In each age forest category, 4 plots
with 5 Barber traps were set up. Ground beetle assemblages were compared
in terms of their abundance, species richness, and the Shannon H’ Index
value. Quantitative ecological description of carabids captured in the
analysed age-classes of spruce forests was performed, and the values of
the MIB (mean individual biomass) were calculated. To determine the
dependencies between the values of the MIB and abundance of Carabidae
trophic groups, the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was
calculated. The assemblages of ground beetles living in the spruce
forests in north-eastern Poland were characterised by quite large
species richness. Significant differences were determined in the number
of species richness between the Carabidae assemblages inhabiting the
analysed age ranges of spruce forests. The oldest spruce stands had a
smaller number of species and specimens of ground beetles as well as the
highest MIB values in comparison with the younger spruce forests (30 to
50 years old). It was found that high MIB values were positively
correlated with the presence of large ground beetle species with higher
moisture requirements. Lower values of the MIB index were due to the
presence of smaller, macropterous species, with the spring type of
breeding and associated with open areas.