Species richness and abundance of insects during post-fire succession of Pinus brutia forest in Mediterranean region

In the Marmaris National Park (located on the Mediterranean coast of SW Turkey) mostly covered with Pinus brutia forests, four sites were selected to study the postfire successional trends in vegetation and insect communities. The sites represented: 1, 5, and 21 years after fire as well as control site (more than 45 years after fire). On the study plots (0.5 ha) the insects were collected with the sweep net swung along three transects each of 100 m length, in monthly intervals between August 2000 and September 2001. The number of plant species decreased from 41 to 32 along succession, as well as the number of stage-specific species but the mean height of vegetation increased with successional stage. The abundance and species richness of herbivorous insects decreased along succession as well as two main herbivore groups - xylophagous id sap-feeders. However, no major changes were found between the sites in terms of abundance or species richness of predators. This decrease in : herbivorous forms may be a result of changes in the plant architecture and vegetation structure between post-fire successional stages.