Understanding the distributional patterns of organisms is one of the fundamental questions of modern ecology. It is also essential for biodiversity conservation, forestry and agriculture. Therefore our studies commonly deal with the investigation of the communities of insects in woodland habitats on various different scales. A significant part of our studies is focused on the diverse group of saproxylic beetles, but also on butterflies, moths, bees and wasps or other groups. We are interested in how environmental factors like vertical and horizontal forest structure, altitude, latitude and management history influence the structure of insect communities. In this regard, we do not only analyze the species richness and composition of insect assemblages from differing habitats but also functional aspects like guild composition. Our studies not only indicate that insect communities clearly differ along the vertical and horizontal scale of woodland habitats, but also that these differences may vary depending on the kind of habitat. With our work we show that these habitats host rather distinct communities of insects, thereby contributing to global biodiversity.

Lukáš Čížek, Pavel Šebek, Petr Kozel, Lucie Ambrožová, Michal Perlík, Claudio Sbaraglia

Saproxylic beetles in tropical and temperate forests – A standardized comparison of vertical stratification patterns. Weiss et al. 2019, Forest Ecology and Management.

Open-grown trees as key habitats for arthropods in temperate woodlands: The diversity, composition, and conservation value of associated communities. Šebek et al. 2016, Forest Ecology and Management.

Fine-Scale Vertical Stratification and Guild Composition of Saproxylic Beetles in Lowland and Montane Forests: Similar Patterns despite Low Faunal Overlap. Weiss et al. 2016, PloS ONE.

The effects of edge-interior and understorey-canopy gradients on the distribution of saproxylic beetles in a temperate lowland forest. Vodka and Čížek 2013, Forest Ecology and Management.

Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Basset, Čížek et al. 2012, Science.