Carabid assemblages of forest islands surrounded by agricultural landscape

The impact of a forest complex size (0.03 ha, 0.17 ha, 0.39 ha, 0.78 ha, 1.85 ha and 7.37 ha) on the carabid fauna has been discussed. Carabid assemblages were classifited as "edge" and "core" assemblages. With growing area of islands, the structure of carabid assemblages becomes gradually typical of those assemblages inhabiting the managed forest stands. The number of Carabidae species in stands was growing with the growth of stands area (to the 0.39ha acreage); with further growing of stands˙ area, the number of carabid species was on the decrease. The portion of macropterous species in both edge and core assemblages was inversely proportional to the island˙s size, while the respective values in case of the brachypterous species were proportional to the island˙s acreage.