Pine Wilt Disease Control and Biodiversity: Three-Year Impacts of Management Regimes

Abstract

Control measures for pine wilt disease (PWD) are widely implemented, yet multi-year field comparisons that track biodiversity trajectories across contrasting management regimes remain limited. We conducted a 3-year (2023–2025) replicated study across nine pine-forest sites in Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea, comparing three management regimes (Clear-cut, Fumigation/Aerial, Unmanaged) to evaluate regime-associated patterns in ground-active beetle diversity, activity density, and community composition while considering understory vegetation cover. Regime-associated differences were consistent but dynamic: Unmanaged stands generally supported higher richness and Shannon diversity (H′), Clear-cut stands showed the lowest diversity immediately after harvest, and Fumigation/Aerial stands maintained the highest activity density. Assemblage composition separated strongly among regimes within each year, and indicator taxa highlighted regime-associated assemblage states, notably Pheropsophus jessoensis (Fumigation/Aerial), Carabus tuberculosus (Clear-cut), and Blindus strigosus (Unmanaged). Because regimes were assigned at the site level and were partially confounded by geographic region, we interpreted these outcomes as region-structured, regime-associated patterns rather than strictly causal effects. We recommend integrating PWD management with retention forestry (e.g., partial canopy and deadwood retention) and routine biodiversity monitoring to reconcile effective disease suppression with the long-term conservation of forest biodiversity.