Russian Federation
Russian Federation
The article presents the results of a six-year study of the population dynamics of the mesoxerophilic phytophage, the shield bug Piezodorus lituratus (Fabricius, 1794) from the order Hemiptera (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae) on a large area of the former burnt-out area after a fire in 2010 in Usman pine forest (Voronezh Region). The study area is a forest block of 84 hectares with natural reforestation, used as a testing ground for studying post-pyrogenic succession in the conditions of the Eastern European forest-steppe. The formation of a stable population grouping of the model species and its trophic relationships, mainly with a shrub dyer’s broom, Genista tinctoria L. (Fabaceae) are revealed. This species significantly prevails in the composition of shrub vegetation on the former burnt-out area. Over a 6-year period, P. lituratus population counts of P.lituratus were conducted along three lines of the polygon: two peripheral and one central line. An uneven distribution of the model species over the study area was found: higher numbers of the shield bug during the years of its mass reproduction were recorded along the edges of the area located near the forest massif where the imagoes hibernate. In addition, the abundance of P. lituratus is affected by the forms of relief: its unevenness ensures a decrease in the overall xerophytism along one of the peripheral lines. A correlation of the abundance of P. lituratus and average daily temperatures during the growing season, snow cover depth, and the condition of the main host plant Genista tinctoria L. was found. It was concluded that the presence of the indicator species P. lituratus in the former burnt-out area, despite all the differences and fluctuations in external conditions, reflects xerophilization of the post-pyrogenic ecosystem with natural restoration of vegetation over 14 years in the conditions of the Eastern European forest-steppe.
Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Piezodorus lituratus, Usman Forest, Voronezh Region.
1. Golub V. B. Fauna poluzhestkokrylyh nadsemeystva schitnikov (Heteroptera, Pentatomoidea) Voronezhskoy oblasti // Sostoyanie i problemy ekosistem Usmanskogo bora. – 1992. – Vyp. 2. – S. 23–30.
2. Kondrat'eva A. M. Poluzhestkokrylye nasekomye (Heteroptera) pribrezhnyh ekotonov lesnyh ozer yugo-zapadnoy chasti Usmanskogo bora (Voronezhskaya oblast') // Problemy regional'noy ekologii. – 2012.
3. Puchkov V. G. Vrediteli lyucerny i bor'ba s nimi. – Voronezh: Voronezhskoe oblastnoe knigoizdatel'stvo, 1950. – 28 s.
4. Puchkov V. G. Schitniki // Fauna Ukrapni. – Kiїv, Vidavnictvo Akademії nauk ukraїns'koї RSR, 1961. – T. 21, vip. 1. – 340 s.
5. Puchkov V. G. Otryad Hemiptera (Heteroptera) – poluzhestkokrylye // Nasekomye i kleschi – vrediteli sel'skohozyaystvennyh kul'tur. T. 1. [Red. O. L. Kryzhanovskiy, E. M. Dancig]. – L.: Nauka, 1972. – .
6. Soboleva V. A. Specifika zaseleniya poluzhestkokrylymi nasekomymi (Heteroptera) garey v lesostepi na primere Usmanskogo bora (Voronezhskaya oblast') // Sostoyanie i problemy ekosistem
