Ground beetles were collected by pitfall trapping to compare their species richness between conifer plantations (14 sites) and regenerating forests (14 sites) and among forest ages and to examine how different functional groups responded to forest type, forest age, patch size, elevation, and geographic location in terms of abundance and richness. Ground beetles were collected from middle August to late October, 2008. A total of 34 species were identified from 3,156 collected ground beetles. Individual‐based rarefaction curves showed greater species richness in regenerating forests, especially in 40–50‐year‐old forests, than in conifer plantations. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that patch size and elevation were major predictors of species richness and/or abundance of forest specialists, brachypterous species, and large‐ and medium‐bodied species. A multivariate regression tree indicated that patch size and elevation were major predictors of assemblage structure. Although our results suggest that maintaining forest areas adjacent to agricultural landscapes may be essential to preserve ground beetle assemblages irrespective of forest types, further study is necessary to clarify the effects of habitat quality and amount on ground beetles in forests.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

In the current study, several carabid beetle species were proposed as potential biological indicators for different habitat types (levee, upland dike, hillock, and streamside) of agricultural landscapes focusing on agrobiont species. Synuchus arcuaticollis and Synuchus orbicollis were found in all habitat types, indicating that they are general species for all habitat types. Harpalus eous and Synuchus cycloderus are potential bioindicator species for the paddy levee and hillock habitats, respectively. Amara pseudosimplicidens, Anisodactylus punctatipennis, and Chlaenius ocreatus, which occurred widely, and Bembidion morawitzi, which occurred only in the streamside habitat, are potential bioindicators for the streamside habitat.