Abstract
The incorporation of Lucanus cervus (L.) in Annex 2 of the EU Habitats Directive imposed on EU member countries the obligation to prepare protection plans and undertake adequate measures aimed at the preservation of this species. A necessary precondition for their implementation was connected with the identification of current localities of L. cervus. This paper presents the distribution of L. cervus localities in Poland, identified on the basis of a survey conducted in the areas administered by the State Forests. Habitat preferences for the selection of biotopes by stag beetles were evaluated in terms of forest-site types. This will facilitate effective protection of L. cervus by indicating potential biotopes for this species, particularly in areas with high abundance. The survey showed the presence of L. cervus in 176 localities distributed in 47 forest districts. Most of them were found in three main areas comprising forests in the areas of Zielona Góra, Wrocław and the Świętokrzyskie Mts. They constitute large-scale refuges. In 98% of cases the development of L. cervus was associated with oaks Quercus robur and Quercus petraea. Other host plants included Fagus sylvatica and Acer pseudoplatanus. The age of trees colonised by stag beetles ranged from 70 to 248 years, 134 years on average. Lucanus cervus was most frequently found in deciduous mesic forest sites (41% of localities) and deciduous mixed mesic forest sites (24% of localities). Over 90% of recorded localities are situated in forested areas, understood to include stands, residual trees and stumps, as well as localities at forest edges and along roads in the vicinity of forests.
Highlights
Public awareness and acceptance of the need for nature conservation and preservation of biodiversity are growing in individual countries
Since the primary criterion when establishing the threat to beetle species is connected with the evaluation of the degree of threat to their micro- or macrohabitats[8], the authors of this study consider it necessary to present the current distribution of L. cervus localities in Poland in commercial forests administered by the State Forests National Forest Holding, which manages forests owned by the State Treasury, covering approx. 90% of the forested area of Poland
It should be remembered that the status of the stag beetle as a critically endangered species (EN – endangered after the Polish Red Data Book of Animals, which corresponds to the A – E criteria according to IUCN) creates an urgent need to identify localities of this species in Europe and to assess its population size[3,4,9], since information on its distribution in Europe is far from complete[3] or is obsolete
Summary
Public awareness and acceptance of the need for nature conservation and preservation of biodiversity are growing in individual countries. It should be remembered that the status of the stag beetle as a critically endangered species (EN – endangered after the Polish Red Data Book of Animals, which corresponds to the A – E criteria according to IUCN) creates an urgent need to identify localities of this species in Europe and to assess its population size[3,4,9], since information on its distribution in Europe is far from complete[3] or is obsolete For this reason, studies have been conducted in many countries to identify localities of L. cervus and to develop adequate species-monitoring methods[1,4,5,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. This study may provide foundations for a system of economic measures that would be either admissible or prohibited in areas of stag beetle occurrence
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