J. Siitonen et P. Martikainen, OCCURRENCE OF RARE AND THREATENED INSECTS LIVING ON DECAYING POPULUS-TREMULA - A COMPARISON BETWEEN FINNISH AND RUSSIAN KARELIA, Scandinavian journal of forest research, 9(2), 1994, pp. 185-191
Beetles and flat bugs living on the decaying wood of aspen (mainly un
r ar ) were collected during expeditions to Finnish and Russian Kareli
a. Similar searching methods were used, and a comparable number of sit
es and trees (about 120) were examined on both sides of the border. Th
e fauna on aspen in Russian Karelia was considerably rich. A total of
21 and 5 rare species were found in Russian Karelia and Finnish Kareli
a, respectively. Within about twenty working hours in Russ. Karelia we
encountered two species considered extinct in Finland (Hylochares cru
entatus and Cyllodes ater) and five considered endangered or vulnerabl
e (Acritus minutus, Rhacopus attenuatus, Uleiota planata, Cucujus cinn
aberinus and Aradus truncatus). We suggest that the high number of rar
e species at the sites studied in Russian Karelia is attributable to t
he different management history of the forests, particularly to the ab
undance and continuity of large, dead aspens. Disturbance caused by lo
gging and leaving the non-marketable trees has probably increased the
diversity at some sites in Russ. Karelia. Aspens killed by notching wh
ich are common in eastern Finland had a poor fauna.