Potential of a linear woodland landscape element as ecological corridor for carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae): a case study from Poland

Fragmentation of landscapes and habitats has been identified as the main driver of biodiversity loss. Ecological corridors may support the conservation of biota in fragmented landscapes due to enhanced habitat connectivity. We conducted a study in order to assess the potential of a linear woodland landscape element along a railway line as ecological corridor using carabid beetles as indicators. The results showed that for some forest species the studied woodland strip has potential as an ecological corridor. Trophy and soil acidity were most often significantly correlated with parameters and species, but width of the woodland strip and distance from the forest site were of highest importance for the formation of the whole carabid assemblages. The results of our study provide with information regarding rules for the construction of woodland strips as ecological corridors. Management strategies should integrate such areas in concepts of sustainable regional development

Forty years of carabid beetle research in Europe - from taxonomy, biology, ecology and population studies to bioindication, habitat assessment and conservation

Volume: 100Start Page: 55End Page: 14

Highway construction - an opportunity to enhance assets and rescources in the transformed Wielkopolska agricultural landscape

The section of the newly designed A-2 highway between Poznań and Września takes a new route through agriculturally used land. Most frequently, land designated for highway corridors is covered with huge single-crop corn and wheat acreage. The primeval Wielkopolska landscape in this region was characterised by high proportion of wooded areas and large areas of bogs. Over time, starting in the XIV century, deforestation and drainage of the area started, gradually transforming the species rich forest and hydrogenic habitat (Hładynowicz H. J. 1932). The physiognomy of Wielkopolska underwent transformation particularly in the XX century, a visible indication of which was the disappearance of characteristic small ponds. Fragmented agricultural landscape has undergone a strong degradation. Most of the natural recourses disappeared (lot of animal and plant species). Indigenous species survive only inside, not numerous and isolated, habitat remnants. Is there a chance, that construction of the A-2 highway would able to change degraded stage of Wielkopolska landscape? Green belts and right-of-way with rich structure of designed vegetation, parallel to carriageways, can functioning as a corridor. Green corridors near existing motorways in Holland, USA function as a corridors, which connecting isolated patches as: tree plantings, cave-in lakes surrounded by crop fields (habitat remnants of numerous species). Forest birds, small mammals, arthropods are used to migrate along Corynephore-tum associations, groups of native shrubs and trees species shaped on a highway ROW (Viles R.L., Rosier D. 2001; Bolger D., Scott A. at al. 2001; Bergin T, Best L. at al. 2000; Brotons L, Herrando S., 2001 Vermeulen H., 2000). The key plans of Polish motorway network should consider management by rules of the landscape ecology. That means not only a creation of management projects in the limits of highway's separating lines (borders of land repurchase) but a creation integrated plans of ecological management of agricultural landscape adjacent to a road corridor, too. Ecological rules of a roadside landscape designing take a chance to recreate some natural recourses in degraded agricultural landscape of Wielkopolska

Impact of different habitat parameters on carabid beetle assemblages in selected areas of a forest-field landscape in Poland – 10 years of data

Species diversity in a given landscape depends to a high degree on its habitat diversity. However, the specificity of different environmental factors may play a different role and individual habitats may undergo changes in time (succession). Moreover, some large-scale environmental factors may affect the habitats in the same way but differ from year to year. A long-term study was carried out with the aim to study the impact of selected environmental factors on the carabid assemblages of individual study site over the years and the impact of selected environmental factors on the carabid assemblages of the set of all study sites in selected years. In order to deal with this task, the carabid beetles assemblages on different study sites in a forest-field landscape in Poland were collected using pitfall traps over a period of ten years (2009-2018). The sites were a planted pine forest (12 years old in 2009), a planted pine forest (31 years old in 2009), a naturally-regenerated pine stand (about 10 years old in 2009), a naturally-regenerated pine forest (about 67 years old in 2009), an naturally regenerated pine forest with a share of oak, beech and birch (about 82 years old in 2009), two irregularly-mown sites without biomass removal, and a regularly-mown site with biomass removal. With respect to individual study sites the impact of the factors age (year of the study), temperature and rainfall in the year of inventory, and temperature and rainfall in the preceding year was tested. The impact of the factors age (stand age in the respective year), carbon in the organic layer, carbon in the mineral soil and distance from the nearest forest was analyzed for the set of all study sites in the years 2011 and 2015. Altogether, 9208 individuals belonging to 77 species were collected. Redundancy Analyses (RDA) indicated that on the individual study sites the year of study was generally positively correlated with temperature and negatively with rainfall, indicating increasing temperatures and decreasing amount of rainfall over the years. For study sites in forest stands in most cases the rainfall was a significant factor, especially the rainfall in the year before the inventory. For study sites in open areas both rainfall and temperature showed significant results. Using Canonical Correspondence Analyses (CCA) for analyzing the impact of the factors on carabid assemblages of the full set of study sites in 2011 and 2015, it was shown that age was positively correlated with carbon in the organic layer, but not with carbon in the mineral soil. Significant factors were carbon in the organic layer and distance from the nearest forest. The results of the study enlarge our knowledge on the impact of different predictable and stochastic environmental factors on the formation of carabid beetle assemblages in rural landscapes

Assemblage Characteristics of Butterflies and Carabid Beetles as a Function of Soil Characteristics and Plant Diversity in Differently Managed Fields, Forests and Ecotones: A Case Study in Tuczno Forest District, Poland

A drastic decline in insect fauna on a large scale has been reported. We assume that this is a multifactorial problem involving biotope types and plant diversity, soil characteristics and human activity (management of areas). The aim of our study was to analyze diversity patterns of carabid beetles and butterflies as predatory and phytophagous arthropod groups in response to soil characteristics and plant diversity in different types of ecosystems and ecotones with diverse management situated in a heterogeneous landscape composed of different forests, agricultural and post-agricultural areas of different stages of succession and watercourses and mires in north-western Poland. Three different forests, three fallows, two meadows and two ecotones, differing with respect to the involved ecosystems, were included in the study. Our results showed that the study site types differed with respect to soil characteristics and plant diversity, but ecotones were not characterized by explicitly higher diversity in these parameters. For both carabid beetles and butterflies, characteristic assemblages for individual study sites could be demonstrated. We could also show differences in the most important factors between these two taxonomic groups. We assume that management type is important regarding ecosystem characteristics and biodiversity. Large-scale management strategies are necessary in order to maintain or create landscapes with high natural qualities

Influence of soil macrofauna on soil organic carbon content

Macrofauna plays a very important role in the functioning of the natural environment. It plays an important role in the decomposition of organic matter by mixing and crushing organic matter in soil. Invertebrate faeces influence the development of microorganisms and their dead bodies stimulate mineralization in the soil. They also influence the humification processes. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of macrofauna and litter distribution and the accumulation of organic carbon in soil. The study showed a significant influence of this thick animal on the processes taking place in the soil. Significant correlations were observed between the organic carbon content in the litter and the organic carbon content in the soil, macrofauna activity with litter decomposition and its influence on the organic carbon accumulation