Response of entomofauna communities to spruce forest decline (Karkonosze Mts., Poland)

Deforestation of the Karkonosze region affected by industral pollution caused large areas of spruce monocultures to have been transformed into a mosaic of landscapes, the main constituents of which are three types of habitats, namely old-growth spruce forests, deforested areas, and young spruce stands. Responses of entomofauna, Diptera in particular, to the new spatial structure of the landscape were studied. Under conditions of anthropogenic transformations of the mountain forest ecosystems, spruce thickets were found to be important in maintaining biological diversity of the entomofauna.