GROUND BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, CARABIDAE) OF BROWN SOILS IN ONE-YEAR-OLD FARM CROPS

The species composition and structure of ground beetle communities in farm crops on brown soil were studied between 1990 and 1993 using Barber's pitfall traps. A total of over 13,000 individuals were captured, representing 47 species. There was significant variation in the number of individuals caught both across study years and across species. H. rufipes was a eudominant and the group of dominants included open-area species (66%), small zoophages (55%) and Palaearctic species (66%). The highest numbers of ground beetles were captured in August. There was no statistically significant correlation between the particular crop grown, plant protection agents and fertilisers used and the number of species and individuals collected. It can be supposed that the one-year-old crops under study supported one carabid community with a stable group of eudominants.