Litter-dwelling arthropod abundance peaks near coarse woody debris in loblolly pine forest of the southeastern United States.

Abstract

Several recent studies have shown that many litter-dwelling arthropod and other invertebrate taxa (e.g., Isopoda, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Araneae, Pseudo scorpionida, Coleoptera, and Gastropoda) are more numerous near dead wood than away from it in the broad-leaved forests of Europe (Jabin et al. 2004; Topp et al. 2006a, 2006b; Kappes et al. 2006; Kappes 2006; Jabin et al. 2007) and New Zealand (Evans et al. 2003). Whether these trends hold true in pine-dominated forests, such as those in the southeastern United States, remains unknown. To address this question, we sampled litter dwelling arthropods adjacent (,,;;15 cm) to, and away (>2 m) from, logs at 3 stages of decay in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests in South Carolina, USA.

Citation

Ulyshen, Michael D., Hanula, J.L. 2009. Litter-dwelling arthropod abundance peaks near coarse woody debris in loblolly pine forest of the southeastern United States. Fl. Ent. 92:163-164.