Sammanfattning

Species living in open sandy habitats are declining in northern Europe because of habitat loss and degradation. However, mining of sand creates potential new habitats for these species in the form of sand pits. In this study we investigated the beetle fauna in sand pits in order to determine what kind of sand pits are the most valuable for conservation, in terms of sand pit area (primarily) and the proportion of sand material, vegetation cover, tree cover and edge habitats. Thirteen sand pits in Uppsala County, Sweden, ranging in size from 0.02 to 18 ha, were included in this study. A total of 2,500 individuals of beetles, belonging to 256 species, were sampled by pitfall traps. Thirty-nine of the species were classified as specialized sand-dwelling species and two were Swedish Red List species. We found that the area of sand pits affects both species number and species composition of beetles. A positive species-area relationship was found, best explained by a quadratic power function, for the habitat-specific species (i.e., sand species). Our recommendation is to prioritize sand pits with areas between 0.3 and 5 ha, with preference towards the lower end of this range, for conserving sand-dwelling beetles.

Nyckelord

Beetles; Carabidae; Coleoptera; Edge effect; Sand pits; Species-area relationship; Sweden

Publicerad i

Biodiversity and Conservation
2012, Volym: 21, nummer: 3, sidor: 853-874
Utgivare: SPRINGER

SLU författare

• Lönnberg, Lina

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Jonsell, Mats

  • Institutionen för ekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
Landskapsarkitetktur


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0225-2

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/56602