Title

Monitoring of the ground-dwelling beetle community and forest floor environment in 22 temperate forests across Japan

AUTHORS

Shigeru Niwa^{1, *}, Ayu Toyota^{1, a}, Toshio Kishimoto^{2, b}, Kôji Sasakawa^{3, c}, Shin Abe⁴, Takeshi Chishima⁵, Motoki Higa^{6, d}, Tsutom Hiura⁷, Kosuke Homma⁸, Daisuke Hoshino^9,e, Hideyuki Ida¹⁰, Naoto Kamata⁵, Yohei Kaneko^{8, f}, Motohiro Kawanishi¹¹, Kazutaka Kobayashi¹², Kaname Kubota¹³, Koichiro Kuraji^{14, g}, Takashi Masaki⁶, Kaoru Niiyama⁶, Mahoko Noguchi⁹, Haruto Nomiya¹⁵, Satoshi Saito⁶, Michinori Sakimoto¹⁶, Hitoshi Sakio⁸, Shigeho Sato^{17, h}, Mitsue Shibata⁶, Atsushi Takashima¹⁸, Hiroshi Tanaka⁶, Naoaki Tashiro^{19, i}, Naoko Tokuchi¹⁶, Hisahiro Torikai²⁰, Toshiya Yoshida²¹

¹ Network Center of the Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project, Japan Wildlife Research Center, Tomakomai, Japan
² Japan Wildlife Research Center, Tokyo, Japan
³ Department of General Systems Studies, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
⁴ Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council, Tokyo, Japan
⁵ The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chichibu, Japan
⁶ Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan
⁷ Tomakomai Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Tomakomai, Japan
⁸ Field Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University, Sado, Japan
⁹ Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Morioka, Japan
¹⁰ Faculty of Education, Shinshu University, Nagano, Japan
¹¹ Faculty of Education, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
¹² Botanical Gardens, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
¹³ Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
¹⁴ Ecohydrology Research Institute, The University of Tokyo Forests, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Seto, Japan
¹⁵ Kyushu Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kumamoto, Japan
¹⁶ Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
¹⁷ Shikoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kochi, Japan
¹⁸ Yona Field, Subtropical Field Science Center, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, Kunigami, Japan
¹⁹ Ashoro Research Forest, Kyushu University, Ashoro, Japan
²⁰ Amami Ecosystem Research Group, Amami, Japan
²¹ Uryu Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Horokanai, Japan

Present addresses:
^a Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Japan
^b Museum of Natural and Environmental History, Shizuoka, Japan
^c Faculty of Education, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
^d Faculty of Science, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
^e Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan
^f Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences, Dazaifu, Japan
^g The University of Tokyo Chiba Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kamogawa, Japan
^h Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Sapporo, Japan
ⁱ Shiiba Research Forest, Kyushu University, Shiiba, Japan

^*Author for correspondence: Shigeru Niwa

Network Center of the Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project, Japan Wildlife Research Center
c/o Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University, Takaoka, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan
E-mail: moni1000f_pitfall@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
Tel.: +81-144-33-2171
Fax: +81-144-33-2173

ABSTRACT

This data paper reports census data of ground-dwelling beetle and other fauna of the forest floor environment; collections were made from a network of 22 forest sites in Japan. To our knowledge, this represents the largest dataset for long-term monitoring of a ground-dwelling beetle community and other taxa in a ground environment in forests, which covers a broad climatic range in the temperate zone and is freely available. The network forms part of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project launched by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. It covers subalpine, cool- and warm-temperate and subtropical climatic zones and the four major forest types of Japan. Thirty three permanent plots usually 1 ha in size were established in old-growth, secondary natural and a few plantation forests. Censuses of the ground-dwelling beetle community were conducted using pitfall trapping and forest floor environment monitoring every year from 2004 to the present. During the initial 9 years of the census (2004-2012), 59,762 beetle individuals (including 3,182 larvae) of more than 314 species were recorded. This dataset includes taxonomy and biomass of each beetle individual and each taxonomic group of other invertebrates coincidently captured in pitfall trapping. The dataset also includes data related to ground coverage by forest floor vegetation, dry mass of the accumulated organic litter layer, and carbon and nitrogen contents and cellulose decomposition rate in organic layer and surface mineral soil. The data could be used to investigate geographical patterns and intra- and inter-annual dynamics of individual body mass, populations and community structures of ground-dwelling beetles, and their relationships with the forest floor environment. Furthermore, the data could be analyzed with other open datasets related to tree community dynamics and litter fall continuously measured in the same study plots. This dataset also provides information related to the distribution and average body mass of each beetle species.

KEYWORDS

biodiversity database, Carabidae, cellulose decomposition, Coleoptera, long-term ecological research (LTER), mineral soil, Monitoring Sites 1000 Project, organic layer, pitfall trapping, soil invertebrate

INTRODUCTION

Long-term and wide geographic scale monitoring surveys are needed to detect signs of changes in biodiversity and ecological processes under globally changing environment, and further, to contribute to the development of appropriate measures for conservation of the natural ecosystems. The decomposers system harbors huge biodiversity comparable to producers and grazers systems in addition to playing essential roles in recycling nutrients in the ecosystem and releasing dead organic matter as CO₂. In forest ecosystems, organisms of detrital food webs and organic matter decomposing activity are highly concentrated within the accumulated organic layer and surface mineral soil (Coleman et al. 2004). Therefore, the environment, biodiversity and decomposers activity in organic layer and surface soil should be important targets in monitoring surveys in forest ecosystems.

The populations and community structure of ground-dwelling beetles are considered as useful environmental indicators because of their sensitiveness to habitat alteration and disturbance (e.g. forestry, habitat fragmentation) in addition to the well-known taxonomy and ecology, especially in temperate region, and easiness and cost-effectiveness of the survey (Rainio and Niemelä 2003, Koivula 2011). Furthermore, the abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling beetles in forests would reflect the local richness of their prey community of soil meso- and macrofauna since most of them are polyphagous feeders consuming live and dead animals and often the highest predators after vertebrates in detrital food webs. Ground-dwelling beetle survey by pitfall trapping were adopted for an ongoing long-term environmental monitoring project in UK (Scott and Anderson 2003) and the effects of climatic change on ground beetle populations have been suggested (Morecroft et al. 2009, Brooks et al. 2012). The low dispersal ability of ground-dwelling beetle species inhabiting in forests due to no or very weak flight capability causes high local endemism and geographically highly differentiated community structure, and may also bring high susceptibility to environmental changes.

Intersite comparisons of organic matter decomposition were performed by field experiments using plant litter with standardized quality in previous studies (Berg et al. 1993, Moore et al. 1999, Gholz et al. 2000, Wall et al. 2008). However, it is quite difficult to conduct decomposing experiments with such homogeneous quality litter throughout the census years in a long-term monitoring project. Cellulose paper is an industrial material with a controlled quality made of the major components of plant tissue, and often used to assess organic matter decomposing activity in forest ecosystems (e.g. Kurka 2001, Laganière et al. 2009, Hayakawa et al. 2014). Therefore, cellulose paper should be one of suitable materials to compare the activity of decomposers over multiple sites and years.

This data paper reports census data of ground-dwelling beetle and other fauna of the forest floor environment; collections were made from a network of 22 forest sites. To our knowledge, this represents the largest dataset for long-term monitoring of a ground-dwelling beetle community and other taxa in a ground environment in forests, which covers a broad climatic range in the temperate zone and is freely available. The network forms part of the Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project launched by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Ishihara et al. 2007; Ishihara et al. 2010). Some sites participate in the Japan Long-Term Ecological Research Network (JaLTER), a member of the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER). These data were acquired under the common census protocol, which enable comparative studies among forests. Furthermore, the data were collected in recent years from 2004.

The network covers subalpine, cool- and warm-temperate and subtropical climatic zones, and four major forest types of Japan (evergreen conifer forest, broadleaf and conifer mixed forest, deciduous broadleaf forest, and evergreen broadleaf forest). Thirty three permanent plots usually 1 ha in size were established in old-growth, secondary natural and a few plantation forests. Censuses of the ground-dwelling beetle community were conducted using pitfall trapping and forest floor environment monitoring every year from 2004 to the present. During the initial 9 years of the census (2004-2012), 59,762 beetle individuals (including 3,182 larvae) of more than 314 species were recorded. The data provide taxonomy and biomass of each beetle individual and each taxonomic group of other invertebrates captured by pitfall trapping and ground coverage by forest floor vegetation in 5 subplots per plot in 4 seasons per year. In addition, dry mass of the accumulated organic litter layer, and carbon and nitrogen contents and cellulose decomposition rate in organic layer and surface mineral soil in every subplot were also included in this dataset. Additional information on stand height, climatic variables, soil, geology and disturbance history of each plot are also provided. These data could be used to investigate geographical patterns and intra- and inter-annual dynamics of individual body mass, populations and community structures of ground-dwelling beetles, and their relationships with the forest floor environment.

These data have been used for ecological studies at each site as well as for the biodiversity reports published by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Ministry of the Environment 2009, 2015). The data can be used for meta-analysis testing hypotheses of community ecology and ecosystem functions. Furthermore, the data provides the information related to the distribution and average body mass of each beetle species.

METADATA

1. Title

Monitoring of the ground-dwelling beetle community and forest floor environment in 22 temperate forests across Japan

2. Identifier

ERDP-2016-04

3. Contributor

A. Data Set Owner

Both the Ministry of the Environment, Japan and the following individuals have the ownership of the data.

Plot identification code of the data	Data set owner (*contact individual)	Affiliation	Contact
			Address	Tel.	Fax	E-mail
UR-BC1	Toshiya Yoshida*	Uryu Experimental Forest, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University	Moshiri, Horokanai, Uryu, Hokkaido 074-0741, Japan	+81-1653-8-2125	+81-1653-8-2410	yoto@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
AS-DB1, AS-DB2	Naoaki Tashiro*	Shiiba Research Forest, Kyushu University	949 Ookawauchi, Shiiba, Higashiusuki, Miyazaki 883-0402, Japan	+81-983-38-1116	+81-983-38-1004	nao@forest.kyushu-u.ac.jp
TM-DB1, TM-DB2, TM-DB3, TM-DB4, TM-AT1, TM-AT2, TM-AT3	Tsutom Hiura*	Tomakomai Research Station, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University	Takaoka, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan	+81-144-33-2171	+81-144-33-2173	hiura@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
KM-DB1, KM-DB2	Mahoko Noguchi*	Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute	92-25 Nabeyashiki, Shimokuriyagawa, Morioka, Iwate 020-0123, Japan	+81-19-648-3941	+81-19-641-6747	mahoko@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
	Daisuke Hoshino	Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
AO-BC1	Kazutaka Kobayashi*	Botanical Gardens, Tohoku University	12-2 Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-0862, Japan	+81-22-795-6765	+81-22-795-6765	kazutaka@m.tohoku.ac.jp
OS-EC1, KS-DB1, KS-DB2	Kosuke Homma*	Field Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University	94-2 Koda, Sado, Niigata 952-2206, Japan	+81-259-61-6006		homma-k@f2.dion.ne.jp
	Yohei Kaneko	Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences
OG-DB1	Takashi Masaki*	Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute	1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan	+81-29-829-8223	+81-29-874-3720	masaki@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
KY-DB1, OT-EC1	Hideyuki Ida*	Faculty of Education, Shinshu University	6-Ro, Nishinagano, Nagano, Nagano 380-8544, Japan	+81-26-238-4115	+81-26-238-4115	pida@shinshu-u.ac.jp
OY-DB1	Hitoshi Sakio*	Sado Station, Field Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University	92-2 Koda, Sado, Niigata, 952-2206, Japan	+81-259-78-2613	+81-259-78-2929	sakio@agr.niigata-u.ac.jp
	Motoki Higa	Faculty of Science, Kochi University
	Motohiro Kawanishi	Faculty of Education, Kagoshima University
CC-DB1, CC-DB2	The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest*	The University of Tokyo Chichibu Forest, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo	1-1-49 Hinoda-machi, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0034, Japan	+81-494-22-0272	+81-494-23-9620	chichibu@uf.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp
AU-EC1, KG-EC1	Michinori Sakimoto*	Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University	Kitashirakawa, Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan	+81-75-753-6424	+81-75-753-6451	sakimoto@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp
AI-BC1	Ecohydrology Research Institute*	Ecohydrology Research Institute, The University of Tokyo Forests, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo	11-44 Goizuka, Seto, Aichi 489-0031, Japan	+81-561-82-2371	+81-561-85-2838	eri@uf.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp
WK-EC1	Naoko Tokuchi*	Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University	Kitashirakawa, Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan	+81-75-753-2268	+81-75-753-2268	tokuchi@kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp
IC-BC1	Mahoko Noguchi*	Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute	92-25 Nabeyashiki, Shimokuriyagawa, Morioka, Iwate 020-0123, Japan	+81-19-648-3941	+81-19-641-6747	mahoko@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
	Shigeho Sato	Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
SD-EB1	Shigeo Kuramoto*, Shigeho Sato	Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute	7 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 062-8516, Japan	+81-11-851-4131	+81-11-851-4167	shkura@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
	Mahoko Noguchi	Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
AY-EB1	Haruto Nomiya*	Kyushu Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute	4-11-16 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Kumamoto 860-0862, Japan	+81-96-343-3730	+81-96-344-5054	nomiya@ffpri.affrc.go.jp
	Satoshi Saito	Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute
TN-EB1, TN-EB2	Kaname Kubota*	Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki	11300 Otsu, Tano-cho, Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889-1702, Japan	+81-985-86-0036	+81-985-86-2551	kaname@cc.miyazaki-u.ac.jp
AM-EB1	Ken Ishida*	Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo	1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan	+81-3-5841-5499	+81-3-5841-0827	ishiken@es.a.u-tokyo.ac.jp
	Hisahiro Torikai	Amami Ecosystem Research Group
YN-EB1	Atsushi Takashima*	Yona Field, Subtropical Field Science Center, Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus	685 Yona, Kunigami, Kunigami, Okinawa 905-1927, Japan	+81-980-41-2242	+81-980-41-2189	a-taka@agr.u-ryukyu.ac.jp

B. Data Set Creators

Shigeru Niwa. Network Center of the Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project, Japan Wildlife Research Center

Ayu Toyota. Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University

4. Project

A. Title:

The Monitoring Sites 1000 Project

B. Personal:

Organization: Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
Address: 5597-1, Kenmarubi, Kamiyoshida, Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture 403-0005 Japan
Tel.: +81-555-72-6031
Fax: +81-555-72-6035
Web Address: http://www.biodic.go.jp/

C. Funding:

Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment, Japan

D. Objectives:

(The following paragraph was extracted from the First term report of the Forest and Grassland Survey, the Monitoring Sites 1000 (Ministry of the Environment 2009), and revised by the Ministry of the Environment in May 2011.)

"The goal of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project is to detect signs of ecosystem change by long-term monitoring surveys that accumulate and analyze quantitative data on various types of ecosystems throughout Japan. The results of this monitoring can contribute to the development of appropriate measures for conservation of the natural environment. The project surveys about 1,000 sites throughout Japan and to continue monitoring them over the long term. This project was initiated in 2003 in accordance with the National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan (as revised in 2002). In the first phase (2003-2007), the design of survey methods for each ecosystem, locating the 1,000 monitoring sites, and building up the operational frameworks were completed and preliminary surveys were carried out. In 2008, the project entered its second phase in which full surveys were initiated. The monitoring project targets various types of representative ecosystems in Japan, including terrestrial ecosystems (alpine zones, forests/grasslands, and satoyama), inland water ecosystems (lakes and mires/marshes), and marine ecosystems (sandy beaches and rocky shores, tidal flats, seagrass beds, algal beds, coral reefs, and small islets). By developing a collaborative operational network with scientists, local experts, NPOs, and other relevant entities, the project will continue monitoring those ecosystems over a long-term period."

5. Geographic coverage

A. Geographic Description:

Japan

B. Bounding Coordinates:

West: 128.23°E
East: 143.51°E
North: 44.37°N
South: 26.74°N

Geographic coordinate system is WGS84

6. Temporal coverage

A. Begin:

2004

B. End:

2012

7. Taxonomic coverage

The data include 3 phyla, 8 classes and 41 orders of invertebrates and 46 families, 218 genera and 314 species of Coleoptera (see SpListGB-####-ver#.csv for detail).

8. Methods

A. Study sites and sampling design

The data were obtained at 33 forest permanent plots in 22 sites. These plots cover major climatic zones and biogeographic regions of Japan (Ministry of the Environment 2001, http://www.env.go.jp/press/file_view.php?serial=2872&hou;_id=2908) (Table 1, Fig. 1). Furthermore, these plots cover major four forest types found in Japan: evergreen conifer forest (EC), broadleaf and conifer mixed forest (BC), deciduous broadleaf forest (DB), and evergreen broadleaf forest (EB). We classified each plot into one of the four forest types by the dominance of evergreen broadleaf, deciduous broadleaf and conifer tree species (Ishihara et al. 2011) although 3 plots of conifer plantations were classified as artificial forests (AT).

Most of these natural forests are old-growth or old secondary forests but some are secondary forests that are younger than 100 years. We classified the natural forests into one of three age categories: old-growth (OG), old secondary (OS) and secondary (S) (Ishihara et al. 2011; see PlotListGB-####-ver#.csv, Appendix.pdf).

We assigned to each plot an alphanumeric code as [abbreviated site name]-[forest type code] [plot number] (see PlotListGB-####-ver#.csv). For example, TM-DB2 represents the second plot of deciduous broadleaf forest (DB) in the site, Tomakomai (TM).

Mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and mean maximum snow depth during 1971 to 2000 were extracted from the database Mesh Climate Data 2000, distributed by the Japan Meteorological Agency (2002). The database provides climate variables estimated at the spatial resolution of 1-km. Mean annual temperature was corrected for altitudinal difference between the plot and the 1-km grid mean by the lapse rate of 0.6°C·100 m^-1. Snow depth from the database might underestimate or overestimate the snow depth of the plots because snow depth is highly spatially heterogeneous. Therefore, we provide snow depth reported in other publications or according to personal observations in Appendix.pdf.

Table 1. Major climatic zones and biogeographic regions of 22 sites.

Biogeographic region	Climatic zone
	Subalpine or subarctic	Cool temperate	Warm temperate	Subtropical
Eastern Hokkaido Island		Uryu (UR) Ashoro (AS)	Not distributed	Not distributed
Western Hokkaido Island		Tomakomai (TM)	Not distributed	Not distributed
The Pacific Ocean side of the Northern Honshu Island		Aobayama (AO)* Ogawa (OG) Chichibu (CC) Ooyamazawa (OY)		Not distributed
The Sea of Japan side of the Northern Honshu Island	Otanomosutaira (OT)	Kanumazawa (KM) Kayanodaira (KY)	Rare	Not distributed
Hokuriku and Sanin region	Rare	Osado (OS) Kosado (KS)* Ashiu (AU)	Kamigamo (KG)	Not distributed
The Pacific Ocean side of the Chubu region			Aichi-akazu (AI)	Not distributed
The Inland Sea	Not distributed	Rare		Not distributed
The Kii Peninsula, Shikoku and Kyushu Islands	Rare		Wakayama (WK) Ichinomata (IC) Sadayama (SD) Aya (AY) Tano (TN)	Not distributed
The Amami and Ryukyu Islands	Not distributed	Not distributed	Rare	Amami (AM) Yona (YN)
The Bonin Islands	Not distributed	Not distributed	Not distributed

*Sites located between the cool and warm temperate zones.

B. Permanent plots

One to seven permanent plots were established in each site. The sizes of the plots are usually 1 ha (100 × 100 m) raging from 0.1 to 1.2 ha. The shapes of the plots are squares or rectangles. TM-AT3 was relocated after the census in 2004 because severely disturbed by a typhoon (see Appendix.pdf).

Five permanent subplots (5 × 5 m) were established in each plot. In some plots, however, all or several subplots are outside the plots and/or have been relocated (see Appendix.pdf). The distance from each subplot to the closest subplot is 26.6 ± 1.0 m (mean ± 1 s.e.) ranging 6.0 to 59.4 m.

C. Data collection

C-1. Ground-dwelling invertebrates (pitfall trapping)

The censuses were conducted every year in each plot, although they have been already ceased in AS-DB2, CC-DB2, KM-DB2 and TN-EB2 (see PlotListGB-####-ver#.csv). At each plot, we collected ground-dwelling invertebrates by pitfall trapping at 4 seasons in every census year, normally spring, early summer, early autumn and late autumn when ground-dwelling beetles are active.

Four pitfall traps (aperture diameter 9 cm, depth 12 cm) were set about 2 m apart from each other in each subplot. Ground-dwelling invertebrates were collected by opening the traps without any baits or preservatives for 3 days (ca. 72 hours) on each sampling occasion (but for 2 days in 2004) and killed with ethyl acetate immediately after collection. Beetles were identified to families, and further, the most individuals of major ground-dwelling families (Carabidae, Silphidae, Geotrupidae and large-sized Staphylinidae) were identified to species. Body mass of each beetle individual was measured immediately after dried for 3 days at 60°C. Additionally, the other invertebrates caught in traps were also identified mostly to orders and dried. Body dry mass of all individuals was measured separately or collectively for each of those non-beetle taxa. It should be noted that the dry mass we measured were not those after food-deprivation but those under the field condition.

On each sampling occasion, weather parameters and forest floor status were recorded. The maximum and minimum air temperature and cumulative precipitation during trapping which were measured in the plot, the site or the closest weather station of Japan Meteorological Agency were recorded. The proportion of forest floor vegetation (plants lower than 60 cm height from the ground plus dwarf bamboo) cover within each subplot (5 × 5 m) was visually determined. Additionally, the thickness of organic layer at 1-5 point(s) in each subplot was also measured in 2004-2007.

In some plots, times of sampling were less than 4 in the first census years for those plots. And we could not conduct some samplings due to natural disasters (e.g. typhoons, landslides, earthquakes). On the other hand, additional sampling other than regular 4 sampling was conducted in some years in some plots. Duration of trapping was also irregular in some cases to be shorter or longer than 3 days (2, 4 or 5 days). In 2004, the traps were opened for only 2 days at all sampling occasions. And the traps were sometimes disturbed by vertebrates, flooding, soil movement and so on. Please see PitfallRecord-####-####-ver#.csv for details of such irregularity and disturbance at each sampling.

C-2. Organic layer

Accumulated organic litter layer in forest floor (25 × 25 cm) was collected in each subplot at 1-3 time(s) every year mostly between May and November. The sampling was conducted once in most years although conducted 3 times (before and after the peak of litter fall, and another season) in each subplot in 2008 and 2009. The collected samples were oven-dried for 2 days at 60°C and weighed. Carbon and nitrogen contents of ground subsample were measured using a Sumigraph NC analyzer (Sumigraph NC-95A; Sumika Chemical Analysis Service, Osaka, Japan).

C-3. Mineral soil

A core of surface mineral soil (100 cm³; 0-5 cm under organic layer) was collected in each subplot on each of 2-5 sampling occasions over 9 years (2004-2012). Each sampling was conducted mostly between June and September. The soil samples were air-dried and the carbon and nitrogen contents were measured using a Sumigraph NC analyzer (Sumigraph NC-95A; Sumika Chemical Analysis Service, Osaka, Japan).

C-4. Cellulose decomposition rate

Measurements were conducted in 2004-2008 and 2012. Six 5 × 5 cm sheets of cellulose paper polyethylene-laminated on one side (Benchkote 2300-916, Whatman) were installed into both organic layer (set horizontally at the boundary of organic layer and mineral soil) and mineral soil (inserted vertically into surface layer, 0-5 cm in depth) in each subplot twice a year (mostly late spring-early summer and mid summer). Two sheets of the paper installed were collected from each layer at each of 3 collecting dates. Each sheet collected was washed in water to remove attached soil and litter, dried and burned in a melting pot with a muffle furnace for 2 hours at 550°C. The decomposition rate of each sheet was calculated as the mass loss rate during field exposure based on the ash free dry mass. It should be noted that the dry mass of cellulose paper includes the weight of a laminated polyethylene layer. The polyethylene layer accounts for 22.65 ± 0.16% (mean ± 1 s.e.) of the weight of the paper before the field exposure.

In 2004, however, three sheets of 10 × 10 cm paper were installed into each layer once in autumn, and collected from each layer at 3 collecting dates. An additional installation was performed in YN-EB1 in autumn, 2005. In 2012, the second installation was conducted in late autumn to determine decomposition activity during winter. Two sheets of paper were installed into each of 2 layers (organic layer and mineral soil) in each subplot and collected in the next spring.

D. Data verification procedures

Data were manually digitized and checked for typos by staffs of the Network Center of Forest and Grassland Survey, Monitoring Sites 1000 Project. Digitized data were checked against the corresponding specimens when it was necessary.

E. Taxonomy and Systematics

The scientific names of Coleoptera followed the taxonomic system of Yahiro (2005) (Carabinae) and Löbl and Smetana (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013) (other than Carabinae) unless otherwise noted. Japanese common names of Coleoptera followed Habu (1973, 1978), Hayashi et al. (1984), Kawai et al. (2005), Kojima and Morimoto (2004), Kurosawa et al. (1985), Morita (1997) and Ueno et al. (1985).

9. Data status

A. Latest Update:

6 January 2016

The data span the period 2004-2012. Data will be collected continuously after 2012 and the database will be updated as collected and verified.

B. Metadata status:

Metadata are complete for this period and stored with the data.

10. Accessibility

A. License and Usage Rights:

1) Acceptable use. The dataset should not be used for illegal purpose or to violate the rights of the others. Use of the dataset will be restricted to academic, research, educational, government, recreational, or other not-for-profit professional purposes.

2) Citation. Data users should properly cite this Data Paper in any publications or in the metadata of any derived data products that were produced using the dataset. As the metadata and the dataset can be updated at any time, the date of update should be shown in bibliography.

3) Acknowledgement. Data users should acknowledge as follows in any publications where the dataset contributed to its content: "Data for XXX was provided by the Ministry of the Environment, Monitoring Sites 1000 Project".

4) Notification. Data users will notify the Data Set Contact when any derivative work or publication based on or derived from the Data Set is distributed. The data users will provide the Data Set Contact with two reprints or a PDF file of any publications resulting from use of the data set.

5) Collaboration. Data users are strongly encouraged to consider consultation, collaboration and/or co-authorship with the data owners.

6) Disclaimer. In no event shall the authors, data owners, or the Ministry of the Environment, Japan be liable to for loss of profits, or for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising from the use or interpretation of the data.

B. Contact:

Data Set Contact

Shigeru Niwa

Network Center of the Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project, Japan Wildlife Research Center
c/o Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University, Takaoka, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 053-0035, Japan
E-mail: moni1000f_pitfall@fsc.hokudai.ac.jp
Tel.: +81-144-33-2171
Fax: +81-144-33-2173

Contact for details of each site

For details of each site, contact the data contact (3. A).

C. Storage location:

http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2016-04.1/jalter-en

The Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment and the data owners store the original data (in Japanese).

11. Data Structure

A. Data tables:

Data file name	Description
PlotListGB-YYYY-ver#.csv	Plot-wise information table. Plots are listed by latitude from north to south.
SpListGB-YYYY-ver#.csv	Species-wise information table for Coleoptera.
PitfallRecord-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	Record of pitfall trapping and environmental data at each trapping occasion.
PitfallBeetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.zip	An archive including 33 files; Each file includes beetle specimen data in each plot and is named as AA-BBN-beetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv.
PitfallNonbeetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	Data of non-beetle invertebrate specimens.
OrganicLayer-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	Data of organic layer.
Soil-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	Data of mineral soil.
CelluloseDecomp-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	Data of cellulose decomposition rate.

AA-BBN, XXXX and YYYY mean an alphanumeric code for a plot (see 8.A), the earliest and latest years of the dataset, respectively.

B. Format type:

The data files are in ASCII text, comma delimited (csv).

C. Header information:

Headers corresponding to variable names (see 11.D) are included as the first row in the data files.

D. Variable definitions:

The variables are listed below in the order they appear in each data file. Variable names are headers included as the first row in the data files. "NA" is the code for errors and missing values for all variables. When no beetle was captured in a certain subplot, all fields other than those for time and place of trapping in the corresponding row were set to "NA" in the file of "AA-BBN-beetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv". The same was applied in "PitfallNonbeetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv".

Data file name	Variable name	Variable definition
PlotListGB-YYYY-ver#.csv	PlotNo	Identification number of plot. The third and fourth digits are unique to each site and the fifth and sixth digits are plot numbers in each site.
	Plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	SiteName	Site name.
	Type	Alphabetical code for forest type (see 8.A). BC: Broadleaf conifer mixed forest DB: Deciduous broadleaf forest EB: Evergreen broadleaf forest EC: Evergreen coniferous forest AT: Artificial coniferous forest
	Status	Alphabetical code for forest age category (see 8.A). S: Secondary OS: Old secondary OG: Old growth
	Latitude, Longitude	WGS84 latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates in decimal degrees (°) to 2 decimal places.
	Altitude	Elevation above mean sea level (m). The precision is 5 m.
	Area	Plot area (ha). The precision is 0.01 ha.
	Shape	Shape of plot.
	Census	Census year.
	Temp30yr, Rain30yr, Snow30yr	Mean of mean annual temperature (°C), annual precipitation (mm) and annual maximum snow depth (m) during 1971 to 2000 (see 8.A). The precision is 0.1°C, 0.1 mm and 1 cm, respectively.
	Edge	Distance to the closest non-forest or open habitat (e.g. grassland, wetland, river, coast, pasture, cropland, urban area, road) (m). The precision is 50 m.
	Forest200, Forest500	Ratio of forested area to land area in 200- and 500-m radiuses. 1: 0-10% 2: 10-20% 3: 20-30% 4: 30-40% 5: 40-50% 6: 50-60% 7: 60-70% 8: 70-80% 9: 80-90% 10: 90-100%
	XcoordN, YcoordN	X and Y coordinates (m) of the center of the N-th subplot in the latest census year. N is an identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot. The coordinate system is identical to that of tree census data published by Ishihara et al. (2011). The precision is 1 m.
SpListGB-YYYY-ver#.csv	sp_jpn_roman	Japanese common names of species, which was romanized following the Kunrei-siki romanization system (ISO3602).
	tax_no	Identification number of taxon ([fam_no]-[subfam_no]-[gen_no]-[sp_no]).
	sci_name	Binominal name (genus and species names) with authority.
	fam_no, sfam_no, gen_no, sp_no	Identification numbers of family, subfamily, genus and species. "99" means indeterminant.
	fam, sfam, trb, strb, gen, sgen, sp	Scientific names of family, subfamily, tribe, subtribe, genus, subgenus and species.
	author	Authority of scientific name of species.
	sci_name2	Binominal name (genus and species names) with authority according to Hayashi et al. (1984), Kurosawa et al. (1985), Ueno et al. (1985) and Tadauchi and Inoue (1999).
	fam2, sfam2, trb2, strb2, gen2, sgen2, sp2	Scientific names of family, subfamily, tribe, subtribe, genus, subgenus and species according to Hayashi et al. (1984), Kurosawa et al. (1985), Ueno et al. (1985) and Tadauchi and Inoue (1999).
	author2	Authority of scientific name of species according to Hayashi et al. (1984), Kurosawa et al. (1985), Ueno et al. (1985) and Tadauchi and Inoue (1999).
	length_min, length_max	Minimum and maximum body lengths of adults according to Hayashi et al. (1984), Kurosawa et al. (1985) and Ueno et al. (1985). But for the species whose body lengths are not provided in these literatures, we referred to Habu (1973, 1978), Morita (1997) and Kawai et al. (2005) or measured the specimens.
	mass_mean, mass_sd	Mean and standard deviation of body dry mass of all adult specimens not damaged (i.e. the score of "damage" in "AA-BBN-beetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv" is "0").
	mass_n	Number of specimens used to obtain "mass_mean" and "mass_sd".
PitfallRecord-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	repr	Representative of plot.
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	sampling	Identification number of sampling occasion in each plot and fiscal year. 1-4: Regular four sampling occasions (normally, spring, early summer, early autumn and late autumn) a1, a2, ...: Additional sampling occasions
	date_start, date_end	Start and end dates of trapping in yyyymmdd format.
	time_start, time_end	Start and end time of trapping in hhmm format.
	days	Number of days when the traps were opened.
	traps	Number of traps opened.
	collector	Representative of the sampling.
	precip, temp_max, temp_min	Cummulative precipitation (mm) and maximum and minimum air temperature (°C) during trapping.
	temp_stn, precip_stn	Alphabetical code for measuring stations for air temperature and precipitation. Site: Station in the site Plot: Station in the plot JMA(XX): Station of Japan Meteorological Agency, named XX
	temp_dist, precip_dist	Distances (km) between a plot and measuring stations for air temperature and precipitation.
	cover	Ground coverage by forest floor vegetation (%) in each subplot.
	ol_thick_N	Thickness of organic layer (cm) at a replication point N (1-5) in each subplot.
	irregular	Numeric code for irregularity in trapping (see 8.C-1). 0: Trapping was regularly conducted. 1: Trapping was not conducted. 2: Trapping was conducted for more or less than 3 days (see "days" for details). 3: Trapping was conducted with less than 4 traps (see "traps" for details).
	disturb	Numeric code for disturbance in trapping (see 8.C-1). 0: Traps were not disturbed. 1: Traps were disturbed.
	note	Notes.
AA-BBN-beetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	sampling	Identification number of sampling occasion in each plot and fiscal year. 1-4: Regular four sampling occasions (normally, spring, early summer, early autumn and late autumn) a1, a2, ...: Additional sampling occasions
	date	End date of trapping in yyyymmdd format.
	inst	Alphabetical code for institute where the specimen is stored or name of individual who takes care of the specimen. BIODIC: Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment, Japan XX: Abbreviated name of study site (see 8.A)
	prep	Numeric code for preservation form of the specimen. 1: Dry, pinned 2: Dry, not pinned
	cat_no	Identification number of the specimen.
	tax_no	Identification number of taxon ([fam_no]-[subfam_no]-[gen_no]-[sp_no]).
	sci_name	Binominal name (genus and species names) with authority.
	fam_no, sfam_no, gen_no, sp_no	Identification numbers of family, subfamily, genus and species. "99" means indeterminant.
	fam, sfam, trb, strb, gen, sgen, sp	Scientific names of family, subfamily, tribe, subtribe, genus, subgenus and species.
	author	Authority of scientific name of species.
	det	Person who identified the specimen.
	det_year	Year of identification.
	sex	Alphabetical code for sex. M: Male F: Female I: Indeterminant
	life_stage	Alphabetical code for life stage. A: Adult L: Larva
	weight	Dry weight (mg). "< 0.01" means the weight was below measurement limit.
	abund	Number of individuals weighed collectively. Normally "1", but sometimes more than 1 (e.g. fragmented individuals, small and abundant species, larval individuals).
	damage	Numeric code for damage of the specimen. 0: Not damaged 1: Damaged (excluding minor damage, such as lacking in appendages) 2: Unknown
	gbif	Name of a dataset in GBIF database which includes data of the specimen (see 12.B).
	note	Notes.
PitfallNonbeetle-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	sampling	Identification number of sampling occasion in each plot and fiscal year. 1-4: Regular four sampling occasions (normally, spring, early summer, early autumn and late autumn) a1, a2, ...: Additional sampling occasions
	date	End date of trapping in yyyymmdd format.
	inst	Abbreviated name of study site (see 8.A) where the specimen is stored.
	prep	Numeric code for preservation form of the specimen. 1: Dry
	cl, ord fam, gen sp	Scientific names of class, order, family, genus and species.
	note_tax	Notes on taxonomy.
	sex	Alphabetical code for sex. M: Male F: Female I: Indeterminant
	life_stage	Alphabetical code for life stage. A: Adult L: Larva P: Pupa I: Indeterminant
	weight	Dry weight (mg). "< 0.01" means the weight was below measurement limit.
	abund	Number of individuals weighed collectively.
	note	Notes.
OrganicLayer-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	sampling	Identification number of sampling occasion in each plot and fiscal year.
	date	Date of sampling in yyyymmdd format.
	inst	Abbreviated name of study site (see 8.A) where the subsample is stored.
	ol_dm, ol_c ol_n, ol_cn	Dry weight (g 625cm-2), C and N contents (weight %), and C-to-N ratio of organic layer.
	year_cn	Japanese fiscal year of C and N measurement (from April to March).
	note	Notes.
Soil-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	sampling	Identification number of sampling occasion in each plot and fiscal year.
	date	Date of sampling in yyyymmdd format.
	inst	Abbreviated name of study site (see 8.A) where the subsample is stored.
	soil_c, soil_n, soil_cn	C and N contents (weight %), and C-to-N ratio of mineral soil.
	year_cn	Japanese fiscal year of C and N measurement (from April to March).
	note	Notes.
CelluloseDecomp-XXXX-YYYY-ver#.csv	year	Japanese fiscal year of sampling (from April to March).
	plot_no	Identification number of plot.
	plot	Alphanumeric code for plot (see 8.A).
	subplot	Identification number of subplot (1-5) in each plot.
	set	Identification number of setting occasion in each plot and fiscal year.
	date_start, date_end	Start and end dates of field exposure in yyyymmdd format.
	days	Duration of field exposure (days).
	layer	Alphabetical code for layer where cellulose paper was installed. L: Organic layer S: Mineral soil
	paper_no	Identification number of cellulose paper (1-6) in each setting occasion, subplot and layer.
	paper_ini, paper_fin	Dry weight of cellulose paper (g) at the start and end of field exposure (including the weight of laminated polyethylene layer).
	mp_no	Identification number of melting pot.
	mp, mp_ash	Dry weight of melting pot without and with burned ash of cellulose paper (g).
	ash	Weight of burned ash of cellulose paper (g), calculated as difference between [mp_ash] and [mp]. When [mp_ash] < [mp], [ash] was set to 0.
	decomp	Mass loss rate of cellulose paper during field exposure, calculated as follows: [decomp] = 1 – ([paper_fin] – [ash]) / [paper_ini] When [decomp] < 0, [decomp] was set to 0.
	note	Notes.

12. Supplementary Information

A. Notes in Japanese:

Although a number of notes/comments were recorded in the original data in Japanese, they were removed from the data of this Data Paper. If you need the notes/comments, consult the Network Center (10. B).

B. Related data:

Dataset of this data paper is also available in Japanese from web site of the Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment, Japan (http://www.biodic.go.jp/moni1000/findings/data/index.html), except for the data of non-beetle invertebrates.

Some data of the beetle specimens stored in Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University (see 12.C) except for dry mass have also been registered as a dataset named "Ground Beetle of Japan Specimen Database" in the database of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; http://www.gbif.org).

The Forest and Grassland Survey of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project is also monitoring trees, litter and seed fall by litter traps and birds by spot-censuses in most of the plots included in this dataset. Those data are available in Japanese (http://www.biodic.go.jp/moni1000/findings/data/index.html), and large parts of the data of trees and litter fall are also available in English (Ishihara et al. 2011, Suzuki et al. 2012). If you are interested in the other data, consult the Data Set Contact (10. B).

C. Voucher specimens and samples:

Up to 10 beetle specimens of each species of family Carabidae collected in each plot are stored in the Biodiversity Center of Japan, Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Almost all of the other specimens and subsamples of organic layer and mineral soil are stored in Tomakomai Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University. You can find where each specimen or subsample is stored in the column headed "inst" in the data tables of this data paper.

13. Acknowledgements

We thank Mr. Shigehisa Hori, Dr. Naoki Inari and Mr. Osamu Tominaga for identification of beetles, Mrs. Hitomi Asano and Mrs. Keiko Ono for laboratory works, and Dr. Satoshi N. Suzuki for valuable comments on the early version of the manuscript. We thank also all individuals who have contributed to obtain the data reported here (see also Appendix.pdf). The data was collected as the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project of Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

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