PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #37: Invertebrate Ecology.
Thursday, August 9, 2001. Presentation from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Exhibition Hall
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Invertebrate responses to the effects of prescribed fire in a mediterranean shrub land of Portugal.
NUNES, LUISA1, REGO, FRANCISCO, LEATHER, SIMON, PITE, MARINA, 1
ABSTRACT- Prescribed fire is used in Portugal to reduce fuel levels. The impact of this management practice on invertebrates and indicator insect species is almost unknown. This study investigated the effects of prescribed burning for a period of three years time in a mediterranean shrub land. Arthropods were sampled in two sites (burnt and unburnt plots) throughout the growing season using pitfall traps. Results showed that carabid beetle diversity, richness and abundance decreased after fire. The less affected arthropod orders were Collembola, Hymenoptera (ants) and Coleoptera. Appropriate fire prescriptions could therefore be applied to manipulate these kind of ecosystems to meet both conservation and fuel management goals.
KEY WORDS: ARTHROPOD, PRESCRIBED FIRE, CARABID, MEDITERRANEAN