Stand type is more important than red wood ant abundance for the structure of ground-dwelling arthropod assemblages in managed boreal forests

摘要

1The relationships between red wood ants (Formica rufa group) and other ground-dwelling arthropods were studied in young managed forests stands in Eastern Finland. The main objectives were: (i) to test the influence of stand type (dominant tree species; age: sapling versus pole stage) and numbers of red wood ants on the occurrence of other ground-dwelling arthropods and (ii) to study the occurrence of red wood ants versus other arthropods on a distance gradient from ant mounds. We used pitfall traps set in 5–14-year-old sapling stands and 30–45-year-old pole-stage stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and birch (Betula spp.) forests.