Multiscale drivers of carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) assemblages in small European woodlands

Aim The spatiotemporal connectivity of forest patches in lowland agricultural landscapes and their age matter to explain current biodiversity patterns across regional as well as biogeographical extents, to the point that it exceeds the contribution of macroclimate for plant diversity in the understory of temperate forests. Whether this holds true for other taxonomic groups remains largely unknown. Yet, it has important consequences for ecosystem functioning and the delivery of ecosystem services. Focusing on carabid beetle assemblages, we assessed the relative importance of macroclimatic, landscape, and patch attributes on driving local species richness (-diversity) and species dissimilarity between patches (-diversity).

Location Deciduous forest patches in seven regions along a 2,100-km long latitudinal gradient across the European temperate forest biome, from southern France to central Sweden.

Methods We sampled 221 forest patches in two 55-km landscape windows with contrasting ...