Abstract:
Objective Severe damage has been observed in the natural Picea schrenkiana forests of eastern Tianshan, Xinjiang, while research on wood-boring pest communities and their distribution patterns in the region remains limited. This study aimed to characterize the community composition and spatial distribution patterns of wood-boring pest in Picea schrenkiana forests and to identify the dominant pest species and their spatial niches, providing a scientific basis for precise monitoring and effective management.
Method Field surveys, pheromone trapping, and stem analysis were used to assess wood-boring pest communities across stands with different damage severities. A Stand Integrated Damage Index (SI) was developed to quantify stand damage severity, and community composition, dominant species, and spatial niche relationships were analyzed.
Result Damage severity was higher in the eastern than in the western Tianshan Mountains. SI was strongly and positively correlated with the mean number of individuals captured per trap (rs = 0.881, P < 0.01) , but was not significantly associated with community diversity. Ips hauseri was the absolute dominant species in the Eastern Tianshan, followed by Pityogenes spessivtsevi, I. hauseri predominantly occupied the lower-middle trunk (4–10 m) and on larger-diameter stems and branches (D > 10 cm), P. spessivtsevi was concentrated in the upper-middle trunk (9–17 m) and on smaller-diameter stems and branches (D ≤ 10 cm). The two species showed low niche overlap, niche similarity, and interspecific competition along both vertical and diameter gradients, indicating pronounced spatial niche differentiation.
Conclusion At the regional, community and individual-tree scales, damage severity of P. schrenkiana stands in the Tianshan Mountains showed clear spatial differentiation, and the two dominant bark beetles exhibited distinct spatial niche differentiation. The high population density of I. hauseri was a key biotic factor for the damage in the eastern Tianshan Mountains. A multi-scale monitoring system integrating regional risk zonation and dominant-species surveys is recommended to improve early warning and precision management.
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