Abstract
The landscape of the Kampinos National Park (KPN), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Poland, is a mosaic of habitats created by natural processes and human activities. However, ongoing abandonment of traditional management has led to the development of forest communities in formerly open areas. The aim of the study was to identify the local habitat conditions promoting the abundance and diversity of wasp species (Vespidae) in the post-agricultural landscape of KPN. A total of 52 samples of Vespidae caught per unit effort (CPUE) were collected across various habitats with different levels of soil humidity, bare ground and mosaicity. The highest numbers and greatest species richness of vespids were recorded in open habitats on semihydrogenic and dry soil, which provided nesting sites for hypergeic (nesting above the ground) and endogeic (ground nesting) wasps. Many solitary species that are hypergeic were significantly associated with old, abandoned wooden buildings. As vespids need resources to build and provision the nest, their communities were shaped not only by the nature of the habitat sampled but also by the mosaicity of the surrounding area. The highest abundance and species richness were recorded in samples from a heterogenous landscape, which provided a wider range of available resources in the vicinity of the nest. Our findings have significant implications for the management of park landscapes: afforestation of open habitats, both human-induced and resulting from natural succession, and the removal of old abandoned wooden buildings may limit landscape mosaicity and thus decrease hymenopteran diversity.
Highlights
The landscape of the Kampinos National Park (KPN), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Poland, is a mosaic of habitats created by natural processes and human activities
The highest number of species was recorded on fallow land (14; seven on hydrogenic soil, eight on autogenic soil, and 13 on semihydrogenic soil) and wooden buildings (13), with the lowest numbers observed in a forest and on a sand dune and on an abandoned farm
This proportion is similar to that recorded for other Aculeata taxa in the Kampinos National Park[12,13]
Summary
The landscape of the Kampinos National Park (KPN), a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Poland, is a mosaic of habitats created by natural processes and human activities. The highest numbers and greatest species richness of vespids were recorded in open habitats on semihydrogenic and dry soil, which provided nesting sites for hypergeic (nesting above the ground) and endogeic (ground nesting) wasps. As vespids need resources to build and provision the nest, their communities were shaped by the nature of the habitat sampled and by the mosaicity of the surrounding area. The highest abundance and species richness were recorded in samples from a heterogenous landscape, which provided a wider range of available resources in the vicinity of the nest. Our findings have significant implications for the management of park landscapes: afforestation of open habitats, both human-induced and resulting from natural succession, and the removal of old abandoned wooden buildings may limit landscape mosaicity and decrease hymenopteran diversity. The wasps of the Polistinae and Vespinae are eusocial and include socially parasitic and workerless species which use closely related taxa as hosts[3,4]
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