Efeitos do manejo florestal sustentável sobre a assembleia de Staphylinidae (Coleoptera: Insecta) em uma floresta de terra firme na Amazônia brasileira

Abstract

Tropical forests have the greatest biological diversity on the planet and offer various ecosystem services, such as regulating the global climate and maintaining water resources. However, these forests have been threatened by anthropic activities, which cause changes in the structure of these forests, making planning for the rational use of their resources urgent. One of the alternatives that reconcile the exploitation of forest resources and biodiversity conservation is sustainable forest management. Despite the planning and reduction of impacts on the forest, this activity still causes changes in the forest ecosystem, with direct impacts on the fauna, changing the structure of communities and reducing species richness and abundance of individuals. Among the groups of animals, the order Coleoptera (insect) is considered sensitive to changes in the environment, thus the subfamily Staphylininae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) has the potential for analysis of environmental disturbances and monitoring of managed areas. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impacts of sustainable forest management on staphylininae assemblage in a ‘terra firme’ forest in the Brazilian Amazon. We evaluated whether the season (dry and rainy), the time elapsed between the areas after logging (11 logging areas and a control area) and the volume of wood explored (individual volume of each felled tree) affected species richness, abundance of individuals, and structure of Staphylininae assemblage. A total of 240 flight interception traps were set up and the individuals of the subfamily Staphylinae were screened, separated, accounted for, mounted on entomological pins, and incorporated in the entomological collection of the State University of Amazonas, Center for Higher Studies of Itacoatiara (UEA/CESIT). A total of 1,707 individuals were captured, and four tribes, 19 genera, and 71 morphospecies were identified. The richness and abundance of staphylininae assemblage showed interaction with the time elapsed between the areas after forest management, season, and volume of wood explored. The structure of the assemblage indicates that only the period and time were significant. The time elapsed between the areas after exploration showed a reduction, followed by an increase to levels similar to the control area over the years. There was a reduction in richness and abundance of Staphylininae until the third year after logging. From the fourth year onwards an increase in wealth and abundance is observed, reaching levels similar to control in the sixth year after exploration. From the sixth year onwards, small fluctuations in wealth were observed. Furthermore, there was an increase in the number of species and individuals with the increase in the intensity of exploration in the study area. However, our results indicate that the area under study is in the recovery phase and the Staphylininae assemblage is efficient to detect environmental impact through the colonization of the explored areas, being associated with the heterogeneity of the area under study and greater diversification of microhabitats in the forest environment over the years.