Invasive alien species pose a considerable threat to both natural ecosystems and human societies. Among these invasive species, forest pests stand out as particularly detrimental, as they can lead to a substantial decline in native biodiversity, deforestation, and the loss of forestry products. The recent effects of climate change and the expansion of international trade have further exacerbated the spread of these invasive species. In this study, we provide an overview of prediction models based on species distribution models for assessing the potential distribution of invasive forest pests in Korea. This information can prove invaluable in the development of effective management and control strategies for these alien species.

Forest clear-cutting operations influence biodiversity through habitat changes and food resource availability for inhabitant species. This study examined the effects of clear-cutting on forest arthropod communities. Arthropods were collected from two different forest treatment areas (clear-cut and control) in summer and autumn. In each treatment area, arthropods were sampled from both crown and ground surfaces using sweeping and pitfall trap methods, respectively. Then, the taxonomic order of the collected arthropod specimens was easily identified. Results indicate that arthropod abundance and number of taxa present were higher at ground surface than at crown levels in both clear-cut and control areas. At crown level, more homopteran species were present in clear-cut areas than in control areas in summer. At ground surface, populations of Isopoda and Opiliones were higher in control areas than in clear-cut areas, whereas numbers of Araneae, Orthoptera, and Hymenoptera were greater in clear-cut areas. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed distinct differences between clear-cut and control communities at crown level in summer and at ground surface in autumn. Thus, our results indicate that clear-cutting significantly influences arthropod communities, and higher taxa are valuable for conducting rapid biological assessments of ecosystem disturbances.

The present study is aimed to evaluate forest health in a fragmented urban forest using insects which are rarely used for evaluation of forest health. It is supposed that forest would be health if insect community in an urban forest is similar to that in healthy forests. Ants (Formicidae) and ground beetles (Carabidae) surveyed by pitfall trap method in the Hongneung forest located in the urban area of Seoul were compared with those in the Gwangneung forest. The Gwangneung forest is supposed to be health due to its high biodiversity and well-conserved nature. Ants of the Hongneung forest was much more abundant compared with those of the Gwangneung forest. However, ground beetles showed the opposite patterns; much more abundant in the Gwangneung forest than in the Hongneung forest. Species richness was higher in the Gwangneung forest than in the Hongneung forest, but species diversity was higher in the Hongneung forest. This dominance decreased species diversity in the Gwangneung forest. Thus, characteristics of insect community in the Hongneung forest were greatly different with that in the Gwangneung forest. This great difference of insect communities between the target and reference sites may indicate whether the Hongneung forest would not be health according to the working hypothesis, or may indicate simply the characteristic of the fragmented urban forest. In order to determine the significant decision, the repetitive studies are needed on this regard.

Forest pests are one of the major disturbance factors in forest ecosystem and their outbreaks are expected to be severer under influence of climate changes. Among the forest pests, coleopterans can be key stone species because they are one of the dominant groups in forest and their ecological functions are very diverse. Moreover, saproxylic beetles contributed to ecological succession of forests thus, ecological functions of forests are changed in response to their outbreaks. The outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (MPB) were the most dramatic examples that outbreaks by climate change induce changes in ecological function of forest. Compositions of coleopteran species were variable to latitudinal changes whereas compositions of functional group were consistent. This showed that ecological function of coleopteran had resilience to climate changes and directions of changes in coleopteran communities were predictable based on species-specific latitudinal distribution. In addition, abundance of saproxylic beetles increased with increase in DBH (diameter at breast height), suggesting tree ages are one of the key factors for saproxylic beetles. Finally, potential changes in interactions between saproxylic beetles and trees under climate changes were discussed.