Diversity of beetles in Gariwangsan Mountain, South Korea: Influence of forest management and sampling efficiency of collecting method

This study was conducted to examine the community structure and diversity of beetles (Coleoptera) inhabiting diverse forest management areas in the Gariwangsan Mountain. The survey was carried out monthly at five study sites of the national forest including a clear-cut area, a heavily thinned forest, a selectively thinned forest, a larch plantation, and a deciduous forest from May 2011 to September in 2011. Beetles were sampled using pitfall trap, Malaise trap, black light, and sweeping. A total of 4883 beetles belonging to 310 species in 43 families were collected. The diversity in the selectively thinned site was lower compared with that in other sites. Of the sampling methods, Malaise traps showed the highest efficiency for collecting diverse beetles. The composition of the functional guild for beetles directly sampled using the sweeping method was different from the composition of those sampled by other methods (e.g. pitfall trap, Malaise trap, and black light), which depended on the activity of the insects.