Xerophilization as a formation vector of the postpyrogenic complex of hemipteran insects (Heteroptera) in the conditions of the Eastern European forest-steppe (on the example of the Usman forest, Voronezh region)

The article analyses the current composition of the complex hemipteran insects (Heteroptera) after the fire in 2010 in the Usman pine forest (Voronezh region) based on materials collected and counted at the post-pyrogenic succession monitoring polygon with an area of 84 hectares in 2021–2022. The influence of microrelief and phytocenotic heterogeneity on the structure of Heteroptera communities was assessed within three accounting areas, 100 sq. m each, located on three lines of the polygon. The total composition of hemipteran species includes 91 species from 15 families, 67 species from 12 families in 2021 and 68 species from 13 families in 2022. More than 50% of the species composition's are mesoxerophiles and xerophiles. The absolute dominant species in all the surveyed test areas of both years of the study was living on cereals, phytophage Dimorphopterus spinolae (Lygaeidae). Subdominants are phytophages from the families Miridae, Lygaeidae, Rhopalidae, Piesmatidae and Pentatomidae, which are trophically associated with cereals and goosefoots. Accounting area № 1 demonstrates maximum α-diversity (species richness, diversity, and evenness) with a predominance of mesophilic and mesoxerophilic species. This composition of subdominants correlates with microclimatic conditions (shading) and the ecotone effect (proximity to the forest mass). The ecological specificity of plots № 2 and № 3 is characterized by a pronounced xerophilic orientation of the hemipteran communities, which is attributed to the xerophytic nature of the phytocenoses (dominance of Poaceae) and the open character of the habitats. In general, ten years after the forest fire, a stable hemipteran complex has formed in areas with natural forest regeneration, with its structure determined by moisture levels and vegetation composition.