Coleoptera assemblages of pine forests depends on the distance to the source of nitrogen pollution

The paper analyzed the changes of beetle assemblages in the litter layer of eutrophic pine forests in the zone polluted by a nitrogen fertilizer plant Joint Stock Company “Achema” (Lithuania). We hypothesized that abundance, diversity and life traits of beetle assemblages depend on the distance from the pollution source. The samples of the litter layer were taken from pine stands at the distances of 3, 5, 10 and 20 km from the plant. The PCA and GLM analyses were used to reduce the number of variables to the main environmental gradient and assess the influence of environmental factors on beetle abundance, number of species, and life traits. The dependence of species number, abundance and the presence of forest and dendrophagous species on the distance from the plant was detected. A significant impact of organic carbon content, nitrogen emission and moss cover on other life traits of beetles was disclosed. The abundance of moss fraction in the litter layer was positively correlated with increasing distance from the plant. The ability to tolerate polluted sites by three species: Atheta fungi, Micrambe abietis and Brassicogethes aeneus, and intolerance of pollution by eight species: Bryaxis puncticollis, Quedius limbatus, Cyphon pubescens, Cephenium majus, Cyphon padi, Cyphon variabilis, Gabrius appendiculatus and Philonthus cognatus, were detected by IndVal analysis. The distribution of litter species was affected by the distance from the plant and by the richness of moss cover

Possibility of reduction of large spruce and large pine weevils abundance on cutting areas using different methods of soil preparation

The trapping of weevils on cutting areas using different soil preparation methods was tested. A soil cutter mixing mineral soil with humus best stimulated the weevil trapping. The methods connected with breaking up the humus layer: manual disk ploughing or using an active plough and ploughing with deep furrowing (strips) stimulated weevil trapping to the smallest degree. The piles of branches on the felled areas had no effect on the increase of weevil trapping, while the winter felling, unlike the summer one, increased the trapping level. On the basis of the results obtained in the study the specified methods to improve the cutting management were proposed

Evaluation of different soil preparation techniques in afforesting former agricultural land using a zooindication method

Carabidae were used as a zooindicator to evaluate different soil preparation techniques applied to farmland prior to afforestation: full deep ploughing (MBS), full ploughing to a depth of 25 cm using agricultural tractor (OR), full ploughing to a depth of 25 cm with subsoil ploughing (ORP) and raising of soil horizons A0 and A1 (NW). The studies were conducted 4 and 5 years after afforestation. The total number of caught beetles was 13 869 individuals from 68 species. Taking into consideration the trapping ability, mean individual biomass and colonization by xerophylous or forest species the deep ploughing BMS and subsoil ploughing ORP was found to have the greatest impact on the carabid recolonisation rate and site degradation

Do catch rate and body length of two dung beetles species depend on the severity of the stand disturbance?

The catch rate and body length of Anoplotrupes stercorosus and Trypocopris vernalis were studied in 2018 on permanent plots established in 2003 in Scots pine stands left for spontaneous succession in the Piska Forest (N Poland). The plots comprised treatment A – severely disturbed stands (canopy cover of 10−30%), treatment B – moderately disturbed stands (canopy cover of 40−60%) and treatment C – the least disturbed stands in which all or nearly all trees survived (canopy cover of 70−90%). Each treatment class was replicated six times. In addition, we included a Scots pine plantation established in 2006 after the soil preparation as a stand in the earliest phase of succession. The following hypotheses were set: (1) severity of stand disturbance affects the body size of both species and (2) in the surviving remnants of stands (later phase of succession development) the body length of both species is greater than in disturbed stands and in the young plantation. No differences between the catch rate of both species in different treatments was detected (tab. 1 and 2). However we found significantly longer body of T. vernalis. The increase in the difference between the length of both species in the least disturbed stands as well as in the late stages of stand development was found (fig. 1 and 2). The direct effect of the LAI and inversely proportional effect of soil temperature on the catch rate and length of the body of A. stercorosus and, to a lesser extent, T. vernalis were observed (fig. 1). The high catch rate of A. stercorosus and the length of its body was linked with the soil covered only with forest litter (which occurs in dense stands with a high LAI index) (fig. 2). The catch rate of T. vernalis was correlated with the predominant nitrophilous Deschampsia fexuosa, which suggests the preferential occurrence of T. vernalis in ‘open’ stands with a high level of solar radiation. In turn, the length of T. vernalis body correlated with a high proportion of Calluna vulgaris, which may suggest a dependence of this parameter on light reaching the soil. The above observations indicate that in the production cycle of Scots pine stands, T. vernalis prefers open stands (especially clear−cuts, young plantations), while A. stercorosus is more often met in dense stands. The catch rate of both species is not suitable for zooindication research, while the length of their body is suitable. The higher the stage of ecological successive of the pine stand, the greater the difference in the body length of these species

Diffusion of soil CO2 and decomposition of organic matter on felled areas using different soil preparation methods

Soil respiration and organic matter decomposition in the soil prepared by four different methods was investigated. Soil was prepared with the cutter, active plough, deep furrowing (strips) plough and manual disk ploughing on areas felled in summer or winter, with and without retained branch piles, as well as in the clumps of old−growth and young−growth stands. The soil respiration rate increased following stand removal, while it was reduced after soil preparation process. The highest CO2 respiration and organic matter decomposition were noted in the variants with the soil cutter or manual disk plough, while the lowest – in the variant with deep furrowing (strips) plough

Carabid communities as zooindicators of soil scarification techniques applied in clear-cutted forest stands and the further used management practices

In this paper the effect of different methods of soil scarification in a clear−cut area were studied. The following soil preparation techniques were applied: the soil cutter, the active soil plough, the traditional method with use of LPz plough, and the manual scarification of soil in circles surrounding the stem of the future young tree. The effect of management of the residual heaps of branches was also tested. Branches were either put in prisms in the original shape or, having been previously chipped, equally distributed over the entire area of the clear−cut. Additional studies focused on the effect of the time of clear−cut execution (winter or summer) on the condition of epigeic carabid communities. The least regressive effect to analysed communities was observed after the application of the point manual soil scarification. The clear−cuts carried out during the winter season, to a greater degree, favours the forest carabid fauna, preserving them in a structure more resembling the forest communities. More distinctive positive effect on the carabids is observed after putting the residual heaps of branches in prisms; the latter gives shelter for the carabid fauna and constitutes the refuge spots for it

Ground beetles [Col. Carabidae] in cutting areas in the Bialowieza Primeval Forest

The research on ground beetle assemblages was carried out in the virgin forests of the Białowieża Primeval Forest and in managed forests. Ground beetle assemblages in restocked cutting areas were characterized by lower values of the indicators characterizing the state of their successional development: MIB and SCP, participation of relict and wingless species. No differences in the number of species harvested in virgin forests and regenerated stands were confirmed

Carabids as bioindicators of regeneration of Scots pine stands disturbed by a hurricane in 2002 - results of observations from 2003-2011

During the period from 2003 to 2011 observations of carabid community regression and selected habitat indicators were conducted on 15 plots in stands that had been disturbed by a hurricane and on 15 plots in control stands. Regression of carabid communities delayed 3−4 years was observed, consisting in increases in the number of species and the proportion of xerophilous species and reductions in the percentage of forest fauna and in mean individual biomass. Only after 7 years did these indicators begin to show a tendency in the reverse direction, albeit not very strong, indicating that carabid communities had begun to regenerate