Diversity patterns of ground beetles and understorey vegetation in mature, secondary and plantation forest regions of temperate Northern China

Zou, Yi, Sang, Weiguo, Wang, Shunzhong, Warren-Thomas, Eleanor, Liu, Yunhui, Yu, Zhenrong, Wang, Changliu and Axmacher, Jan Christoph (2015) Diversity patterns of ground beetles and understorey vegetation in mature, secondary and plantation forest regions of temperate Northern China. Ecology and Evolution, 5 (3). pp. 531-542. ISSN 2045-7758

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Abstract

Plantation and secondary forests form increasingly important components of the global forest cover, but our current knowledge about their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation is limited. We surveyed understory plant and carabid species assemblages at three distinct regions in temperate northeastern China, dominated by mature forest (Changbaishan Nature Reserve, sampled in 2011 and 2012), secondary forest (Dongling Mountain, sampled in 2011 and 2012), and forest plantation habitats (Bashang Plateau, sampled in 2006 and 2007), respectively. The α-diversity of both taxonomic groups was highest in plantation forests of the Bashang Plateau. Beetle α-diversity was lowest, but plant and beetle species turnover peaked in the secondary forests of Dongling Mountain, while habitats in the Changbaishan Nature Reserve showed the lowest turnover rates for both taxa. Changbaishan Nature Reserve harbored the highest proportion of forest specialists. Our results suggest that in temperate regions of northern China, the protected larch plantation forest established over extensive areas might play a considerable role in maintaining a high biodiversity in relation to understory herbaceous plant species and carabid assemblages, which can be seen as indicators of forest disturbance. The high proportion of phytophagous carabids and the rarity of forest specialists reflect the relatively homogenous, immature status of the forest ecosystems on the Bashang Plateau. China's last remaining large old-growth forests like the ones on Changbaishan represent stable, mature ecosystems which require particular conservation attention.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	α-diversity,biodiversity conservation,carabids,herbaceous plants,mature forest,turnover
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	02 Feb 2015 16:40
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2022 22:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/51723
DOI:	10.1002/ece3.1367

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