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Abstract
Lignocellulosic biomass plantations as a refugee in agricultural lands –
study of carabid beetle assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in energy plants
crops
1 Department of
Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology,
University of
Warmia
and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland; natalia.piotrowska@uwm.edu.pl
stanislaw.czachorowski@uwm.edu.pl
2 Department
of Entomology, Phytopatology and Molecular Diagnostics University of Warmia and
Mazury, Prawocheńskiego 17, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland; e-mail: a.kosewska@uwm.edu.pl
3 Department of Plant
Breeding and Seed Production, Faculty of Environmental Management and
Agriculture,
University of Warmia
and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-724 Olsztyn, Poland; mariusz.stolarski@uwm.edu.pl
Carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) play an important role in many agroecosystems. By controlling pest populations, they provide important ecosystem services, contributing to the maintenance of the biological balance in the habitat. Moreover, carabids are frequently used as bioindicators – organisms reliably detecting environment alterations and reflecting the overall biodiversity. The urgency of the climate crisis has renewed interest in cultivating lignocellulosic energy crops. Plantations are often established in marginal lands unsuitable for food production. Due to the extensive cultivation system - fewer agrotechnical treatments and little or no pesticide use, lignocellulosic biomass plants have a much lower environmental impact than annual crops, such as rape or wheat. On the other hand potential impact of perennial crops on biodiversity is not fully understood. The research aim was to assess the impact of the cultivation of perennial industrial plants on the ground beetles diversity. In this goal, ground beetle assemblages were investigated and compared in four different perennial crops: willow (Salix spp.), miscanthus (Miscanthus×giganteus), cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) and virginia mallow (Sida hermaphrodita). The biodiversity monitoring study was conducted in the vicinity of Leginy, in northeastern Poland. Ground beetles were captured into pitfall traps filled up with an ethylene glycol solution. The traps were emptied every two weeks from the beginning of June until the end of September. In total, 2177 specimens representing 45 species were caught.
The largest number of ground beetles per trap was captured in the cup plant crop. The second-largest number of individuals was captured on the plantation of miscanthus, while in the willow and virginia mallow crops specimens number per trap was similar. Similarly, the number of species recorded on various crops was similar. Apart from the assessment of the Shannon diversity (H'), evenness (J'), Simpson’s index (D) and the structure of domination were investigated. Additionally, the ecological characteristics of the assemblages in different crops were made. Despite the small area of plantations and their close location differences between Carabidae assemblages in each of the tested crops were noticeable. The greatest difference was observed between the willow and the cup plant crops. The results of the research seem to be promising, especially for the willow plantation, where a large percentage of that large, poorly dispersing specialist species as well as Carabidae typical for forest habitat were observed.
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