title: Effects of reforestation practices on Staphylinid beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in Southwestern China forests.
abstract: In 2004, Staphylinid beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages were studied via pitfall trapping to examine the effects of reforestation in southwestern China forests. Sites included two 100-yr-old mature forest types (hemlock-spruce forest and birch forest), and three 40-yr-old forest  types established after harvesting (spruce plantation, larch plantation, and natural broad-leaved forest). Staphylinid species richness was greater in natural broad-leaved forests than those in hemlock-spruce forests and spruce plantations, but no significant difference was found in  abundance among the five forest types. Beetle assemblages from young forest stands were significantly different from those in older forest stands, and some environmental characteristics, i.e., elevation, proportion of broad-leaved trees, and coarse woody debris, significantly affected species  abundances. Moreover, some staphylinid species predominantly found only in older forest stands indicate that mature forest specialists might be threatened by loss of habitat. So it is necessary to retain adequate patches of older successional stages for conserving these beetle assemblages.
authors: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China.
authors: Tian-Hong
authors: TH
authors: Luo
authors: Xiao-Dong
authors: XD
authors: Yu
authors: Hong-Zhang
authors: HZ
authors: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D001517:Coleoptera; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D029964:Fagus; D016468:Forestry; D028201:Pinaceae; D011156:Population Density