The effects of non-native plantation established after clear-cutting were studied in Dongling Mountain region, Northern China. Pitfall catches of Carabus beetles from a non-native larch plantation were compared with those from two native forests, an oak forest and a mixed broad-leaved forest. More individuals were captured from the mixed broad-leaved forest and the larch plantation than from the oak forest. For the threemost abundant species in this area, C. crassesculptus peaked in abundance in the mixed broad-leaved forest; C. manifestus peaked in the larch plantation, and C. sculptipennis in the oak forest. Measured by PcoAusing Bray-Curtis index of dissimilarity, species composition of the larch plantation was different from the two native forests, but overlapped remarkably with them. All the three abundant species showed a similar positive relationship between local distribution and abundance. Captures of abundant species were clumped within the forest, but the extent of aggregation among forests was different. Monthly catches of total Carabus, and C. crassesculptus alone, peaked in June–August in all the three forests, but C. manifestus peaked in June and again in August. Our results suggest that the planting of non-native larch does not have a detrimental effect on Carabus assemblages in general, but it changes the spatial distribution and abundance compared to the native forests.
Carabus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages of native forests and non-native plantations in Northern China
