THE DYNAMICS OF THE TERRESTRIAL ARTHROPOD COMMUNITY AND VEGETATION RECOVERY AT POST-FIRE STANDS

Abstract

In the course of a forest fire in the forests of Pinus densiflora in southern Hiroshima Prefecture, the terrestrial arthropod fauna, especially those in A_o horizon, were destroyed. This arthropod community later underwent a gradual recovery, its composition changing with the postfire succession of v getation and other environmental factors. Many of arthropods present after the fire and reforestation were species found in the pine forest. Some of these arthropods presumably originated from individuals which survived the disturbance, and others from individuals invading from the neighbouring pine forest. Together these acted as a source for faunal reformation and recovery. Characteristic arthropod species were recognized in the fresh burnt sites. Members of the Curculionidae and Scolytidae appeared at the sites just after a forest fire, whereas several species of Gryllidae and Blattellidae were predominant in the post-fire stands.