Although commercial forest plantations have experienced a major growth in the tropics over the past decades, little attention has been paid to their role in the conservation of epigeal arthropod communities. We studied diversity patterns of the epigeal beetle community in monoculture and polyculture forest plantations with big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). Likewise, we explored the existence of indicator species of each plantation type. Our findings highlight that each plantation type promotes multiple impacts on diversity patterns. We found that monocultures positively influenced overall beetle species richness and ecological diversity. When broken down by guild, both predator and decomposer species richness were similar between monoculture and polyculture, whereas for beetle diversity we found contrasting responses by guild: decomposer diversity was greater in monoculture whereas predator diversity was higher in polyculture. In addition, species composition differed between monoculture and polyculture, except for the predator guild. Species turnover was the main component explaining beta diversity patterns at all levels, indicating that each plantation type promotes biologically distinct epigeal assemblages. Few superabundant heliophile species dominated the beetle community structure; moreover, monocultures had a composition skewed towards heliophile species whereas polyculture favored umbrophile species. These patterns could be attributed to differences in habitat complexity between plot types, namely differences in tree cover. Additionally, indicator species only were identified in polycultures, reflecting their higher spatial complexity. Monoculture and polyculture plantations with big-leaf mahogany are complementary agroecosystems for preserving diverse epigeal beetle communities and should be considered valuable tools for conservation purposes in the tropics.

尽管过去几十年热带地区的商业林种植园经历了重大增长，但很少有人关注它们在保护表层节肢动物群落中的作用。我们研究了大叶桃花心木（Swietenia macrophylla）。同样，我们探索了每种种植园类型的指示物种的存在。我们的研究结果强调，每种种植园类型都会对多样性模式产生多重影响。我们发现单一栽培对整体甲虫物种丰富度和生态多样性产生积极影响。当按行会分解时，单一栽培和混养之间的捕食者和分解者物种丰富度相似，而对于甲虫多样性，我们发现行会的反应相反：单一栽培中的分解者多样性更大，而混养中的捕食者多样性更高。此外，除了捕食者行会外，单一养殖和混养之间的物种组成不同。物种周转是解释各级贝塔多样性模式的主要组成部分，表明每种种植园类型都促进了生物学上不同的表层组合。很少有过多的嗜日菌物种主导了甲虫群落结构；此外，单一栽培的组成偏向嗜日菌物种，而混合栽培有利于嗜雨菌物种。这些模式可归因于地块类型之间栖息地复杂性的差异，即树木覆盖的差异。此外，仅在混养中发现了指示物种，这反映了它们的空间复杂性更高。具有大叶桃花心木的单一栽培和混合栽培种植园是保护不同表皮甲虫群落的互补农业生态系统，应被视为热带保护目的的宝贵工具。此外，单一栽培的组成偏向嗜日菌物种，而混合栽培有利于嗜雨菌物种。这些模式可归因于地块类型之间栖息地复杂性的差异，即树木覆盖的差异。此外，仅在混养中发现了指示物种，这反映了它们的空间复杂性更高。具有大叶桃花心木的单一栽培和混合栽培种植园是保护不同表皮甲虫群落的互补农业生态系统，应被视为热带保护目的的宝贵工具。此外，单一栽培的组成偏向嗜日菌物种，而混合栽培有利于嗜雨菌物种。这些模式可归因于地块类型之间栖息地复杂性的差异，即树木覆盖的差异。此外，仅在混养中发现了指示物种，这反映了它们的空间复杂性更高。具有大叶桃花心木的单一栽培和混合栽培种植园是保护不同表皮甲虫群落的互补农业生态系统，应被视为热带保护目的的宝贵工具。仅在混养中发现了指示物种，反映了它们的空间复杂性更高。具有大叶桃花心木的单一栽培和混合栽培种植园是保护不同表皮甲虫群落的互补农业生态系统，应被视为热带保护目的的宝贵工具。仅在混养中发现了指示物种，反映了它们的空间复杂性更高。具有大叶桃花心木的单一栽培和混合栽培种植园是保护不同表皮甲虫群落的互补农业生态系统，应被视为热带保护目的的宝贵工具。