林业在社会经济中占有重要地位，森林采伐和植树造林是林业部门最常见的管理方式，但这种管理方式造成森林生境外貌和结构的改变，影响了森林内动物的行为，从而改变了生物多样性，受到人们的广泛关注。如何评价这种管理方式的合理性，尤其是对森林生态系统的影响，成为当前森林生物多样性研究的焦点之一。昆虫对于生境变化高度敏感，若干类群，尤其是甲虫，已经可以作为监测生境和生物多样性变化的指示种，从而可以客观地评价林业活动会生态系统的影响。
中国科学院动物研究所周红章研究组选择位于北京东灵山的天然阔叶林（辽东栎林）和针叶种植林（油松林）交错带为研究地点，以地表甲虫为研究对象，通过比较天然阔叶林内部、交错带（针阔混交林）以及种植林间地表甲虫组成和分布，分析影响地表甲虫分布的环境因子，探讨由天然林砍伐后进行种植林更新建立的群落交错带对该地区地表甲虫物种多样性的影响。结果发现，(1) 天然阔叶林和交错带比种植林内容纳更多的物种，山坡中部也比底部和顶部拥有更多物种；(2) 生境类型和坡位对地表甲虫物种种数和个体数量均有显著影响，并存在交互影响；(3) 多元统计分析表明，与种植林相比，交错带内物种组成和分布与天然阔叶林更加相似，某些环境因子，如阔叶树种的比例、林冠层盖度以及海拔高度（坡位）能够显著影响到物种分布。综上所述，天然阔叶林的砍伐以及种植林恢复能够在局域尺度下引起地表甲虫物种组成和分布发生微妙变化，这种变化在评估林业活动的合理性以及进行多样性保护时必须加以考虑。
该研究得到了中国科学院知识创新工程重要方向性项目（KSCX2-YW-Z-0910）、国家科技部973项目（973 Program-2007CB411605）、国家科技支撑计划（2008BAC39B02）、国家自然科学基金委面上项目（30700074）以及中国科学院动物进化与系统重点实验室项目的资助。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Journal of Insect Conservation DOI: 10.1007/s10841-010-9290-6
Distribution of ground-dwelling beetle assemblages (Coleoptera) across ecotones between natural oak forests and mature pine plantations in North China
Xiao-Dong Yu, Tian-Hong Luo and Hong-Zhang Zhou
Abstract
This paper studied edge effects resulting from logging to reforestation on the distribution of ground-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) across ecotones between natural oak forests and mature pine plantations established after harvesting of natural forests. Using pitfall traps, ground-dwelling beetles were investigated at three replicated plots (ecotones) with three sampling positions of slope (lower, middle and upper) for each plot. Rarefaction estimates of species richness indicated that traps on natural forests and transition zones had more species than mature plantations did, and traps on the middle slope had more species than on the lower and upper slopes did. Results of an ANOVA analysis, which used forest type and slope position as factors and number of species and individuals as the response variables, showed a significant effect of forest type and slope position, and a significant interaction between forest type and slope position. Multivariate analyses (DCA and CCA) showed that beetles of transition zones were more similar to those of natural forests than to those of mature plantations, and that some environmental characteristics, i.e., proportion of broad-leaved trees, canopy cover and elevation (slope position), significantly affected species abundances. We conclude that the logging of natural oak forests and the reforestation of pine plantations can result in subtle variation in the composition and distribution of beetle assemblages at a local scale and such variation should be taken into account when conservation issues are involved.
Keywords Ground-dwelling beetle - Edge effect - Spatial heterogeneity - Forest practice
