Invertebrate community structure, with particular reference to Coleoptera: Carabidae, in Clearfelled and plantation areas of Hamsterley forest, county Durham

Abstract

Summary 1. This study examined the invertebrate populations of two habitat types in Hamsterley Forest, County Durham. 2. Invertebrate populations in mature Sitka spruce plantations and Clearfelled habitats were examined by sampling the soil and surface active fauna. 3. Differences were found to exist abundances of invertebrates at the order level between the habitats, although the responses of the surface active and soil dwelling fauna were different. 4. A larger proportion of the beetles were caught in the clearfelled habitat, although some families were more abundant in the plantation than in the clearfell 5. Significantly more ground beetles were caught in the open clearfell habitat than in the mature plantation. 6. The most abundant carabid species was Pterostichus adstrictus contributing over 35% of the carabids caught, and was found almost exclusively on the open habitat. 7. Multivariate analysis revealed that the surface active fauna sampled were distinct in two ways, with the principle axis of ordination relating to habitat type and the second axis of ordination relating to differences in the clearfell sites. At the order level the soil fauna did not separate in a similar manner and the two habitats are thought to play a minor role in shaping the community. 8. The differences in carabid assemblages in the clearfell sites sampled could not be explained in terms of the environmental variables recorded. It is proposed that the differences between the habitats, and the difference within the open habitat, were related to temperature differences, as a result of the different insulation properties of the habitat types.