Insects may be useful tools for monitoring the ecological effects of human land management practices. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are among the most common arthropods found living on the soil surface in temperate ecosystems, including forests and agricultural systems. Their ecological role as part of a complex of generalist predators has been demonstrated by numerous studies in North America and Europe. The objective of this study was to document the effects of land management practices common to central Kentucky on the ground-beetle faunal composition. Twelve sites in central Kentucky, representing forest, recently clear-cut forest, and agricultural habitats, were sampled in the springs of 2005 and 2006. A total of 45 species were collected, 13 of which were not previously reported from Kentucky. Only one non-native species, Amara aenea, was collected. No statistical differences in species richness or diversity among the land-use treatments were found; however, cluster and principal components analyses indicated that species composition was influenced by land use and distinguishable among treatments.

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