Effect of fire of various intensities on assemblages of ground beetles (Carabidae, Coleoptera) inhabiting pine-stands at different ages.

Carabid beetle assemblages were studied in pine stands of four age stages burned either completely or at the ground level. Fire caused loss of representatives of forest species and large zoophages, as well as rise in the ratio of the number of eurytopic C. erratus to forest C. micropterus. Mean individual biomass (MIB) also became reduced and more so the more severe was the fire and the older the stand. Body length of Calathus erratus individuals was also affected propor-tionally to fire intensity. The results suggest that the destruction of ground beetles by fires is as severe as in the case of a clear-cut.