Impacts of Different Land-use Patterns on the Carabid Beetle Diversity and Species Assemblages in South Korea

Abstract

This work was performed to assess the effect of urbanization on habitat loss. Carabid beetle assemblages were examined from agricultural, forested, and urban areas. Environmental variables, which had the greatest impact on the carabid assemblages, were litter, tree cover, slope, shrub cover, exchangeable calcium, and pH. Eighteen carabid species were collected and identified with respect to the eight land-use types. Natural forest and agricultural habitats both supported higher levels of species richness, relative to urbanized areas. However, both fragmented and managed forests (urban subtypes) also maintained their level of species richness, relative to garden lawns (urban subtype). Comparatively, in rural areas, habitat loss and changes in agricultural practices over time have shown to be more damaging to natural ecosystems than the impact of urbanization on urban landscapes. Alternatively, with a full grasp of the knowledge of the original habitat and the influence of the effects of urbanization on natural landscapes, the biodiversity of urban landscapes can be facultatively improved. More importantly, sustainable management programs such as those aimed at inner city urban agriculture and habitat creation programs are supportive in maintaining ecosystem biodiversity.