Forest–farm edge effects on communities of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) under different landscape structures

Abstract

AbstractIn fragmented landscapes, ecological processes may be significantly influenced by edge effects, but few data are available for edge effects across forest–farmland edges. We investigated patterns of species richness, abundance, and species composition in ground beetles across forest–farm edges in two different agro‐forest landscapes in Korea. Nine and five sites were selected from Hwaseong, a fragmented landscape, in 2011 and 2012, respectively, while eight sites were selected from Hoengseong, a relatively well‐protected landscape, in 2012. Ground beetles were collected by pitfall trapping. Species richness was higher in the surrounding habitat than in the forest interior or edge in both Hwaseong and Hoengseong. However, in Hwaseong, species richness of the forest edge was similar to that of the forest interior, while in Hoengseong forest edge species richness was intermediate between that of the forest interior and surrounding areas. In addition, non‐metric multidimensional scaling based on the combined data of both locations showed that the species composition of ground beetles in the forest edge was more similar to that of the forest interior than the surrounding areas, although some open‐habitat species occurred at the forest edges. Three characteristic groups (forest specialists, edge‐associated species, and open‐habitat species) of ground beetle species were detected by indicator value analysis. In our study, ground beetle assemblages differed in the forest edges of two agro‐forest landscapes, suggesting that the edge effect on biota can be influenced by landscape structure.