Relationships between landscape and moth diversity in Mediterranean mountain forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Abstract

The diversity in composition of moth communities living forest habitats is strongly related to habitat characteristics, depending mainly on dominant forest type. The species in a community have different behaviors and are more or less influenced by the surrounding landscape diversity. The effects of landscape diversity on moth communities are significant when the appropriate spatial scale is considered, which depends on the ecological needs and dispersion abilities of species. In this study we assessed the relationships between landscape diversity at different spatial scales in four different forest Calabrian scenarios, identified by using the CORINE Land Cover, and moth diversity. Nocturnal Lepidoptera were sampled in beech, chestnut, Calabrian black pine and fir forests by using LED light traps. In each forest type 9 traps were positioned, in a total of 36 sample plots selected by the maturity of forest. The diversity of Lepidoptera communities was related to landscape diversity, considering each sample plots as the center of the surrounding landscape analyzed with different buffers (500m, 1000m, 2000m, 3000m, and 5000m). Diversity moth-landscape correlations were performed for: (i) all 36 sample plots; (ii) only broadleaves forest sites; (iii) only conifers forest sites; (iv) only forested plots; (v) only non-forested plots. Our results suggest that landscape composition in forest ecosystems, both at small and medium spatial scale, have a driving role in determining moth communities diversity, pointing out that the landscape structure is a parameter to taking in account for the sustainable management of forests.

Keywords

• Lepidoptera
• Diversity
• Landscape Ecology
• CORINE Land Cover
• Calabria