Seasonal prevalence of arthropods after line thinning of overstocked Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations in central Japan

We investigated the seasonal changes in the abundance of coleopteran and hymenopteran functional groups to evaluate the ecological suitability of line thinning in overstocked Japanese cedar plantations in central Japan. In line thinning, 3- to 5-m-wide sections of the stand are harvested parallel to the mountain slope and perpendicular to the forest roads. The thinning intensity varies from 25 to 35% of the total number of trees. We compared the seasonal abundance between the thinned stand and the unthinned (control) stand in two plantation forests: a low-elevation Sugi site (4 years since thinning) and a high-elevation Kuchiotani site (6 years since thinning). Most coleopteran and hymenopteran functional groups were consistently more abundant in the thinned stand than in the unthinned stand. The differences in arthropod abundance between the thinned and unthinned stands were mainly caused by marked differences in the abundance of seasonally strongly changing functional groups during their peak seasons. The predators and parasitoids of insects as well as the plant and pollen feeders (plant-dependent functional groups) responded to seasonal changes in the vegetation (food and microhabitats) and microclimate. The ants were less affected by line thinning. Our results indicate that line thinning is an ecologically suitable silvicultural treatment for the improvement of biodiversity conditions in the overstocked plantation forests.