Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok VIII. - Natura Somogyiensis 23. (Kaposvár, 2013)
Horváth B.: Diversity comparison of nocturnal macrolepidoptera communities (Lepidoptera: Macroheterocera) in different forest stands
234 Natura Somogyiensis 300 250 I •A 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.6 — — Mixed--------Oak ...........Beech A lpha Fig. 4: Diversity profiles of the sampled moth communities in the sampling sites Discussion Macromoths in the Sopron area are well studied - approximately 800 species are known (Mészáros & Szabóky 1981, Leskó & Ambrus 1998, Sáflán et al. 2006, Sáfián & Szegedi 2008, Sáfián et al. 2009). In the content of the numerous papers on the fauna of the region, comparative studies on nocturnal Lepidoptera species have not been published before in this study area. The hypothesis that there would be a higher diversity of macromoth species in the mixed forest stand was partly true. The results of the diversity indices and diversity comparisons clearly delineate the ranks of the mixed and beech forest stands. The diversity profile of the oak forest stand crossed both of the other profiles in the graphical display; therefore, ranking the oak forest stand using Rényi’s ordering was not possible. The number of species and individuals was the lowest in the oak forest; however, the diversity indices values were higher for the oak forest than for the beech forest, which can be explained by the higher equitability value. The lower number of species was unexpected because most of the herbivorous Lepidoptera species develop on oak (Csóka 1998). The lower diversity values in the beech forest stand may be due to the subnudum herb layer and the low number of shrub and tree species. A similar study was performed by Summerville & Crist (2003). They found a significant relationship between moth community composition and forest structure, especially the floristic composition. Forest management plays an important role in the maintenance of favourable forest structure for Lepidoptera and plant communities. Forest structure primarily depends on the logging method used. Unlogged or selectively cut forest stands are more favourable for forest moth assemblages (Summerville & Crist 2002). Logging determines the vegetation beneath the forest canopy, which is a causal factor for the moth community structure in forested ecosystems (Usher & Keiller 1998, Ober & Hayes 2009). The final results of this study also emphasise the important role played by the number of plant species and the vegetation structure. To verify the role of the mixture rate and diversity of vegetation on Lepidoptera species requires further investigation.
