Logging Impacts on Forest Carabid Assemblages in Japan

Logging impacts on forest carabid assemblages in Japan were assessed. The carabid assemblages at Kamigamo Experimental Station, Kyoto, Japan from June 1999 to May 2001 were studied. It was observed from the analysis that the number of individuals and niche breadth, the number of large carnivores and large insectivores decreased because of logging. The results showed that the richness of the FH layer and vegetation were involved in determining species richness and the density of the carabid assemblages. It was also concluded that even small-area logging might have a negative impact on the density of the large predatory carabids, which are sensitive indicators of forest disturbance.