Effect of Different Management Practices on Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages of Uphill Grasslands

Abstract

Grasslands, especially those under ecological management (i.e. mowing, and grazing without fertilizers and chemicals), have significant importance for many arthropods, including ground beetles. We studied the abundance and species diversity of Carabidae of four uphill grasslands (West Sudety Mountains, Poland) under different management intensity: cattle grazing (one or four times per year), mowing, and alternatively managed (grazing/mowing). Beetles were collected using pitfall traps during three whole grazing seasons, i.e. from April to October in 2007–2009. The most frequent species of beetles, on each of the plots, were predators Poecilus cupreus, Calathus fuscipes and Nebria brevicollis. Sixtyfour ground beetle species were found altogether. Species richness ranged from 42 to 47, with the mean number of individuals per trap day-1 from 0.006 to 0.018. In the years of the study the number of ground beetles and their species diversity were higher on meadows mown once per year and alternatively managed grasslands as compared with grazed sites. Therefore, the simplified, organic way of agricultural production with reduced mowing or moving combined with grazing can be considered as appropriate in preserving the biodiversity of the grasslands in mountainous regions.