Responses of bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) community structure to green-tree retention in pine tree forest from Korea

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the response of bark beetle community structure to green-tree retention in a Korean pine tree forest between 2013 and 2015. Five types of retention methods were evaluated to investigate the retention effect on insect community structure at various sites in Keunjeogol, Samcheok, and Gangwon-do. Lindgren funnel traps were installed to collect insects from July to August, over a 3-year period. Overall, 690 individuals and 29 species of Scolytinae were collected, with populations of insects appearing to gradually increase by each year of the study. Results of the insect community analysis showed that most survey sites presented a higher diversity than the control site annually except in 2015. This study can be used as a baseline dataset for the long-term study of early changes in insect community in response to green-tree retention in forests.

Keywords

• bark beetles
• green-tree retention
• initial response
• pine tree forest