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Wildermuth B, Fardiansah R, Matevski D, Lu JZ, Kriegel P, Scheu S, Schuldt A. Conifers and non-native tree species shift trophic niches of generalist arthropod predators in Central European beech forests. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:3. [PMID: 36737705 PMCID: PMC9896740 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02105-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Functional diversity is vital for forest ecosystem resilience in times of climate-induced forest diebacks. Admixing drought resistant non-native Douglas fir, as a partial replacement of climate-sensitive Norway spruce, to native beech forests in Europe appears promising for forest management, but possible consequences for associated biota and ecosystem functioning are poorly understood. To better link forest management and functional diversity of associated biota, we investigated the trophic niches (∆13C, ∆15N) of epigeic generalist predators (spiders and ground beetles) in mixed and pure stands of European beech, Norway spruce and non-native Douglas fir in north-west Germany. We assessed the multidimensional niche structure of arthropod predator communities using community-based isotopic metrics. RESULTS Whilst arthropod ∆13C differed most between beech (high ∆13C) and coniferous stands (low ∆13C), ∆15N was lowest in non-native Douglas fir. Tree mixtures mitigated these effects. Further, conifers increased isotopic ranges and isotopic richness, which is linked to higher canopy openness and herb complexity. Isotopic divergence of ground beetles decreased with Douglas fir presence, and isotopic evenness of spiders in Douglas fir stands was lower in loamy sites with higher precipitation than in sandy, drier sites. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that tree species and particularly non-native trees alter the trophic niche structure of generalist arthropod predators. Resource use and feeding niche breadth in non-native Douglas fir and native spruce differed significantly from native beech, with more decomposer-fueled and narrower feeding niches in beech stands (∆13C, isotopic ranges and richness). Arthropod predators in non-native Douglas fir, however, had shorter (∆15N) and simplified (isotopic divergence) food chains compared to native forest stands; especially under beneficial abiotic conditions (isotopic evenness). These findings indicate potential adverse effects of Douglas fir on functional diversity of generalist arthropod predators. As tree mixtures mitigated differences between beech and conifers, mixed stands including (non-native) conifers constitute a promising compromise between economic and conservational interests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Wildermuth
- Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Riko Fardiansah
- Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dragan Matevski
- Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jing-Zhong Lu
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter Kriegel
- Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III), University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Stefan Scheu
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Schuldt
- Forest Nature Conservation, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
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Stańska M, Stański T. Spider Assemblages of Tree Trunks and Tree Branches in Three Developmental Phases of Primeval Oak-Lime-Hornbeam Forest in the Białowieża National Park. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13121115. [PMID: 36555025 PMCID: PMC9781079 DOI: 10.3390/insects13121115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The study was conducted in the Białowieża Forest, which is the only place in Europe where the full development cycle of forests takes place on a large scale. The objective of this study was to compare spider assemblages inhabiting tree trunks and tree branches in the optimal, terminal and regeneration phases of a primeval oak-lime-hornbeam stand, in terms of their abundance, species diversity and species richness. Spiders of tree branches were sampled using a sweep net into which branches were shaken, while spiders inhabiting tree trunks were collected using traps made of corrugated cardboard placed around the trunks. The three analysed phases did not differ in terms of total species richness. We found that the species diversity of both foliage-dwelling and trunk-dwelling spider assemblages was higher in the terminal phase compared to other phases, which may indicate that the former phase offered the most diverse niches for spiders as a result of the significant disturbance in the stand structure. In addition, we found fewer spider individuals and species in individual samples collected on tree branches from a plot in the regeneration phase compared to the other phases, which may be a consequence of the structure of the stand in this phase (low canopy cover, lush herbaceous vegetation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzena Stańska
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
| | - Tomasz Stański
- Faculty of Sciences, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
- Correspondence:
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Abstract
AbstractInvertebrates comprise the most diversified animal group on Earth. Due to their long evolutionary history and small size, invertebrates occupy a remarkable range of ecological niches, and play an important role as “ecosystem engineers” by structuring networks of mutualistic and antagonistic ecological interactions in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Urban forests provide critical ecosystem services to humans, and, as in other systems, invertebrates are central to structuring and maintaining the functioning of urban forests. Identifying the role of invertebrates in urban forests can help elucidate their importance to practitioners and the public, not only to preserve biodiversity in urban environments, but also to make the public aware of their functional importance in maintaining healthy greenspaces. In this review, we examine the multiple functional roles that invertebrates play in urban forests that contribute to ecosystem service provisioning, including pollination, predation, herbivory, seed and microorganism dispersal and organic matter decomposition, but also those that lead to disservices, primarily from a public health perspective, e.g., transmission of invertebrate-borne diseases. We then identify a number of ecological filters that structure urban forest invertebrate communities, such as changes in habitat structure, increased landscape imperviousness, microclimatic changes and pollution. We also discuss the complexity of ways that forest invertebrates respond to urbanisation, including acclimation, local extinction and evolution. Finally, we present management recommendations to support and conserve viable and diverse urban forest invertebrate populations into the future.
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In the Shadow of Cormorants: Succession of Avian Colony Affects Selected Groups of Ground Dwelling Predatory Arthropods. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13020330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
(1) Nesting of the great cormorants strongly influences terrestrial ecosystems by physical destruction of vegetation and chemical changes in the soil and around the nesting colonies. (2) We investigated spider, harvestmen, and centipede assemblages in different influenced plots (starting colony, active dense colony, and partly abandoned colony) in the biggest Lithuanian cormorant colony in pine woods on the shore of the Baltic Sea in the Curonian Spit National Park in Lithuania. Selected groups of ground dwelling predatory arthropods were collected by pitfall traps in 2012–2014. (3) We recorded a total of 4299 spider specimens (102 species), 451 harvestmen specimens (9 species), and 1537 centipede specimens (7 species). The coverage of moss and herb vegetation, mean Ellenberg value for light, bare ground without vegetation, and number of nests significantly influenced the abundance, species richness, and ecological groups of arthropod predators. (4) Active ground hunters represented by spider Trochosa terricola and centipede Lithobius forficatus were positively influenced by bare ground without vegetation and a higher density of nests, and negatively influenced by an increasing coverage of moss and herbs. The opposite effect was found for web builder spiders and less movable species, represented by dominant spider species Diplostyla concolor and harvestmen Nemastoma lugubre and Oligolophus tridens. (5) The results show how cormorant influence the forest vegetation structure and affect the abundance and species diversity of ground dwelling predatory arthropods.
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Müller J, Brandl R, Cadotte MW, Heibl C, Bässler C, Weiß I, Birkhofer K, Thorn S, Seibold S. A replicated study on the response of spider assemblages to regional and local processes. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jörg Müller
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5 Rauhenebrach Germany
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2 Grafenau Germany
| | - Roland Brandl
- Department of Ecology ‐ Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology Philipps‐Universität Marburg, Karl‐von‐Frisch Str. 8 Marburg Germany
| | - Marc W. Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto–Scarborough Toronto Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto Toronto Canada
| | - Christoph Heibl
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2 Grafenau Germany
| | - Claus Bässler
- Conservation Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity Goethe‐University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Ingmar Weiß
- Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Str. 2 Grafenau Germany
| | - Klaus Birkhofer
- Department of Ecology Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus‐Senftenberg, Konrad‐Wachsmann Allee 6 Cottbus Germany
| | - Simon Thorn
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstraße 5 Rauhenebrach Germany
| | - Sebastian Seibold
- Technical University of Munich Freising Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park Berchtesgaden Germany
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Spider Assemblages of Tree Branches in Managed and Primeval Deciduous Stands of the Białowieża Forest. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f13010005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Białowieża Forest is an important biodiversity hotspot on a European scale, and therefore its preservation should have a high priority. However, forest management conducted over a large area of the forest, intensive logging, and elimination of dead trees pose serious threats to many species in the forest. The main aim of this study was to determine the species composition of spider assemblages inhabiting tree branches of the Białowieża Forest and to compare their species richness and the abundance of individuals (adults and juveniles) between managed and primeval stands. Between April and November 2000, we sampled three forest types (oak–lime–hornbeam forest, ash–alder riparian forest, and alder carr) in protected primeval stands within the Białowieża National Park and in managed stands. We collected 1761 specimens from 14 families and identified 41 species. Tree branches were inhabited mainly by juveniles. Species richness was smaller in managed stands compared to primeval stands. The highest number of species was found in primeval alder carr. Our study shows a negative effect of forest management on spider assemblages in terms of species richness. We emphasize the important role of alder carr forests as potential biodiversity hotspots.
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Košulič O, Procházka J, Tuf IH, Michalko R. Intensive site preparation for reforestation wastes multi-trophic biodiversity potential in commercial oak woodlands. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 300:113741. [PMID: 34562820 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Lowland oak forests host high biodiversity throughout Europe, and to maintain their high biodiversity potential we need to understand how current silviculture practices influence these ecosystems. The most common harvest approach in oak woodlands remains clear-cutting followed by site preparation for reforestation. The site preparation can vary in intensity and possibly affect forest biodiversity in various ways. We studied the impact of site preparation intensity on ground-dwelling arthropod predators and detritivores in commercial oak woodlands. The intensive management included mechanical site preparation with soil milling, stump removal, and herbicide application. The extensive management consisted of natural succession after reforestation with only such slight disturbances as regular hand-provided mowing of vegetation. We recorded 120 spider species, 92 species of ground beetles, 10 species of centipedes, 17 species of millipedes, and 7 species of woodlice, including a relatively large number of threatened species. We found that intensive post-logging management strongly homogenized the habitat structure, and this led to low multi-trophic taxonomic and functional diversity in comparison to that under extensive management. At sites with extensive management, there was not only high functional diversity but also high functional redundancy. Species of conservation concern almost vanished from clearings under intensive management. The high multi-trophic diversity and functional redundancy indicate that extensive site preparation may enhance ecosystem multi-functionality, including primary productivity and ecosystem resilience. Extensive post-harvest management is therefore strongly preferable, and it is also economically more feasible. Intensive post-harvest management should be prohibited in lowland forests within transition zones to localities under nature protection or in natural oak forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Košulič
- Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, Brno, 613 00, Czech Republic.
| | - Jiří Procházka
- Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Lidická 25/27, Brno, 60200, Czech Republic; Moravian Museum, Zelný Trh 6, Brno, 60200, Czech Republic
| | - Ivan H Tuf
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 27, Olomouc, 77900, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Michalko
- Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, Brno, 613 00, Czech Republic
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Spiders as bio-indicators of habitat disturbance in the riparian zone of the Ganga river: a preliminary study. Trop Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42965-021-00192-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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9
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Effects of Gap Size and Cardinal Directions on Natural Regeneration, Growth Dynamics of Trees outside the Gaps and Soil Properties in European Beech Forests of Southern Italy. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12111563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The present study was focused on how cardinal directions inside gaps of different sizes (small, 200 m2; medium, 400 m2; and large, 600 m2) can affect soil characteristics and tree regeneration. Additionally, the effects of gap size on the growth dynamics of trees outside the gaps were evaluated. The study was carried out in a European beech stand located in Aspromonte National Park (Southern Apennines, Calabria, Italy). Microclimatic variables, physical, chemical, and biochemical soil properties, natural regeneration density, and growth trees outside the gaps density of natural regeneration were assessed. This study provided evidence for an important effect of cardinal points on micro-environmental parameter variability, nutrient cycle, physic-chemical soil properties, water availability, and biological processes such as trees growth and regeneration. The European beech natural regeneration was most abundant in the south part of the gaps. Thus, we can state that cardinal points affect the trees natural regeneration in a species-specific manner. The new microclimatic conditions due to the gap opening had positive effects on the tree growth located along the gap edge, especially in the trees sampled on the edges of the medium gaps. On the contrary, the trees located in the forest recorded a productivity coherent with the period prior the gap opening. In medium-sized gaps, the combination and interaction of microclimatic and soil parameters (humification and mineralization process and microbial activity) created the best conditions for beech natural regeneration and favored an increase in the productivity of the trees at the edge of the gaps.
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10
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Ohwaki A, Tanikawa A, Kishimoto T, Maeda S, Kitahara M. Different community assembly of ground beetles and spiders in subalpine forests and alpine scoria deserts of a young volcano, Mt. Fuji. Ecol Res 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1703.12250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Ohwaki
- Division of Natural Environmental Science Mount Fuji Research Institute (MFRI), Yamanashi Prefectural Government Fujiyoshida Yamanashi Japan
| | - Akio Tanikawa
- School of Agriculture and Life Sciences The University of Tokyo Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo Japan
| | - Toshio Kishimoto
- Museum of Natural and Environmental History Aoi‐ku Shizuoka Japan
| | - Saki Maeda
- Division of Natural Environmental Science Mount Fuji Research Institute (MFRI), Yamanashi Prefectural Government Fujiyoshida Yamanashi Japan
| | - Masahiko Kitahara
- Division of Natural Environmental Science Mount Fuji Research Institute (MFRI), Yamanashi Prefectural Government Fujiyoshida Yamanashi Japan
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Stańska M, Stański T. Plant-dwelling spider communities of three developmental phases in primeval oak-lime-hornbeam forest in the Białowieża National Park, Poland. THE EUROPEAN ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/24750263.2021.1931489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- M. Stańska
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Poland
| | - T. Stański
- Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Poland
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Grundel R, Dulin GS, Pavlovic NB. Changes in conservation value from grasslands to savannas to forests: How a temperate canopy cover gradient affects butterfly community composition. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234139. [PMID: 32559760 PMCID: PMC7304999 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Temperate savannas and grasslands are globally threatened. In the Midwest United States of America (USA), for example, oak savannas persist today at a small percentage of recent historic coverage. Therefore, restoration of habitats of low and intermediate canopy cover is a landscape conservation priority that often emphasizes returning tree density to a savanna-like target value. Understanding how animal species react to such changes in vegetation structure is important for assessing the value of these restoration plans. We examined how butterfly community attributes in northwest Indiana USA, including community composition, richness, and abundance responded to a grassland-to-forest gradient of canopy cover. Butterfly community composition under intermediate canopy cover differed significantly from community composition in the most open or closed-canopy habitats. Composition of the plant community in flower was a significant predictor of three assessed attributes of the butterfly community—composition, richness, and abundance. Phenology, expressed as day-of-the-year, was also a strong predictor of these butterfly community attributes. Few butterfly species were habitat specialists as adults although canopy cover was a more important predictor of adult community composition than of richness or abundance of butterflies. Therefore, adult butterfly community differences along the canopy cover gradient were less about butterfly communities filled with habitat specialists for different canopy-defined habitats and more about gradual changes in community composition along this gradient. Overall, butterfly community richness was predicted to peak at about 34% canopy cover, butterfly abundance at about 53% canopy cover, community conservation value at about 59% canopy cover, and a combination of desirable conservation attributes–high diversity, high abundance, and high conservation value–was predicted to reach a peak of co-occurrence at about 67% canopy cover suggesting that habitats of intermediate canopy cover might be particularly effective for butterfly conservation in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Grundel
- U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Chesterton, Indiana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Gary S. Dulin
- Valparaiso University, Department of Biology, Valparaiso, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Noel B. Pavlovic
- U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Chesterton, Indiana, United States of America
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Patterns of change in the species composition of vascular plants during different succession stages and management intensity of a lowland floodplain forest. Biologia (Bratisl) 2020. [DOI: 10.2478/s11756-020-00536-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Stellwagen SD, Culin JD. Diversity and Habitat Distributions of Ground-Surface Spiders (Araneae) in Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina. SOUTHEAST NAT 2020. [DOI: 10.1656/058.019.0113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah D. Stellwagen
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, 171 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0310
| | - Joseph D. Culin
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, 171 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0310
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Kovács B, Tinya F, Németh C, Ódor P. Unfolding the effects of different forestry treatments on microclimate in oak forests: results of a 4-yr experiment. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 30:e02043. [PMID: 31758609 PMCID: PMC7900960 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
A stable below-canopy microclimate of forests is essential for their biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. Forest management necessarily modifies the buffering capacity of woodlands. However, the specific effects of different forestry treatments on site conditions, the temporal recovery after the harvests, and the reason for the contrasts between treatments are still poorly understood. The effects of four different forestry treatments (clear-cutting, retention tree group, preparation cutting, and gap-cutting) on microclimatic variables were studied within a field experiment in a managed oak-dominated stand in Hungary, before (2014) and after (2015-2017) the interventions by complete block design with six replicates. From the first post-treatment year, clear-cuts differed the most from the uncut control due to the increased irradiance and heat load. Means and variability of air and soil temperature increased, air became dryer along with higher soil moisture levels. Retention tree groups could effectively ameliorate the extreme temperatures but not the mean values. Preparation cutting induced slight changes from the original buffered and humid forest microclimate. Despite the substantially more incoming light, gap-cutting could retain the cool and humid air conditions and showed the highest increase in soil moisture after the interventions. For most microclimate variables, we could not observe any obvious trend within 3 yr. However, soil temperature variability decreased with time in clear-cuts, while soil moisture difference continuously increased in gap- and clear-cuts. Based on multivariate analyses, the treatments separated significantly based mainly on the temperature maxima and variability. We found that (1) the effect sizes among treatment levels were consistent throughout the years, (2) the climatic recovery time for variables appears to be far more than 3 yr, and (3) the applied silvicultural methods diverged mainly among the temperature maxima. Based on our study, the spatially heterogeneous and fine-scaled treatments of continuous cover forestry (gap-cutting, selection systems) are recommended. By applying these practices, the essential structural elements creating buffered microclimate could be more successfully maintained. Thus, forestry interventions could induce less pronounced alterations in environmental conditions for forest-dwelling organism groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bence Kovács
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchInstitute of Ecology and BotanyAlkotmány út 2‐4VácrátótH‐2163Hungary
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchGINOP Sustainable Ecosystems Research GroupKlebelsberg Kuno utca 3TihanyH‐8237Hungary
- Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical BiologyEötvös Loránd UniversityPázmány Péter sétány 1/CBudapestH‐1117Hungary
| | - Flóra Tinya
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchInstitute of Ecology and BotanyAlkotmány út 2‐4VácrátótH‐2163Hungary
| | - Csaba Németh
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchGINOP Sustainable Ecosystems Research GroupKlebelsberg Kuno utca 3TihanyH‐8237Hungary
| | - Péter Ódor
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchInstitute of Ecology and BotanyAlkotmány út 2‐4VácrátótH‐2163Hungary
- MTA Centre for Ecological ResearchGINOP Sustainable Ecosystems Research GroupKlebelsberg Kuno utca 3TihanyH‐8237Hungary
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Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Community Responses to Recent and Repeated Wildfires in Conifer Forests of Northern New Mexico, USA. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10080667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in semi-arid conifer forests as a result of global change pressures has raised concern over potential impacts on biodiversity. Ground-dwelling arthropod communities represent a substantial portion of diversity in conifer forests, and could be particularly impacted by wildfires. In addition to direct mortality, wildfires can affect ground-dwelling arthropods by altering understory characteristics and associated deterministic community assembly processes (e.g., environmental sorting). Alternatively, disturbances have been reported to increase the importance of stochastic community assembly processes (e.g., probabilistic dispersal and colonization rates). Utilizing pitfall traps to capture ground-dwelling arthropods within forest stands that were burned by one or two wildfires since 1996 in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, United States (USA), we examined the potential influences of deterministic versus stochastic processes on the assembly of these diverse understory communities. Based on family-level and genera-level arthropod identifications, we found that the multivariate community structures differed among the four fire groups surveyed, and were significantly influenced by the quantities of duff, litter, and coarse woody debris, in addition to tree basal area and graminoid cover. Taxon diversity was positively related to duff quantities, while taxon turnover was positively linked to exposed-rock cover and the number of logs on the ground. Despite the significant effects of these understory properties on the arthropod community structure, a combination of null modeling and metacommunity analysis revealed that both deterministic and stochastic processes shape the ground-dwelling arthropod communities in this system. However, the relative influence of these processes as a function of time since the wildfires or the number of recent wildfires was not generalizable across the fire groups. Given that different assembly processes shaped arthropod communities among locations that had experienced similar disturbances over time, increased efforts to understand the processes governing arthropod community assembly following disturbance is required in this wildfire-prone landscape.
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Size-Dependent Patterns of Seed Rain in Gaps in Temperate Secondary Forests, Northeast China. FORESTS 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/f10020123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Secondary forests have become the major forest type worldwide, and are experiencing various disturbances and exhibiting obvious vegetation degradation (e.g., reduced biodiversity and decreased productivity) compared with primary forests. Forest gap is a common small-scale disturbance in secondary forests. Promoting natural regeneration under gap disturbance is an important approach to recover biodiversity and ecosystem services for temperate secondary forests. The gap size is the crucial characteristic controlling natural regeneration of many tree species. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal pattern of seed rain for gravity-dispersed and wind-dispersed tree species in gaps of varying sizes. The objectives of this study were to determine how seed rain of dominant tree species depend on gap size, and consequently, to explore some gap-based silviculture solutions for restoring secondary forests from the view of seed dispersal. The spatial distribution of seed rain in gaps with three sizes (large gaps of 250–350 m2, medium gaps of 150–250 m2, and small gaps of < 150 m2), the temporal dynamics of seed rain over three years, and the relationship between seed rain and soil seed banks were explored in temperate secondary forests. The results showed that more than 90% of the seeds in seed rain were wind-dispersed, and their seed rain density and the contribution of seed rain to soil seed bank in medium gaps reached the highest (p = 0.03). The results suggest that establishing medium-sized gaps (i.e., gap size with 150–250 m2) in the secondary forests is more favorable for improving the natural regeneration potential (arrival of seeds and forming soil seed bank) of gap-dependent and wind-dispersed species (e.g., Acer mono) in gaps.
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Gallé R, Urák I, Nikolett GS, Hartel T. Sparse trees and shrubs confers a high biodiversity to pastures: Case study on spiders from Transylvania. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183465. [PMID: 28886058 PMCID: PMC5590833 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The integration of food production and biodiversity conservation represents a key challenge for sustainability. Several studies suggest that even small structural elements in the landscape can make a substantial contribution to the overall biodiversity value of the agricultural landscapes. Pastures can have high biodiversity potential. However, their intensive and monofunctional use typically erodes its natural capital, including biodiversity. Here we address the ecological value of fine scale structural elements represented by sparsely scattered trees and shrubs for the spider communities in a moderately intensively grazed pasture in Transylvania, Eastern Europe. The pasture was grazed with sheep, cattle and buffalo (ca 1 Livestock Unit ha-1) and no chemical fertilizers were applied. Sampling sites covered the open pasture as well as the existing fine-scale heterogeneity created by scattered trees and shrub. 40 sampling locations each being represented by three 1 m2 quadrats were situated in a stratified design while assuring spatial independency of sampling locations. We identified 140 species of spiders, out of which 18 were red listed and four were new for the Romanian fauna. Spider species assemblages of open pasture, scattered trees, trees and shrubs and the forest edge were statistically distinct. Our study shows that sparsely scattered mature woody vegetation and shrubs substantially increases the ecological value of managed pastures. The structural complexity provided by scattered trees and shrubs makes possible the co-occurrence of high spider diversity with a moderately high intensity grazing possible in this wood-pasture. Our results are in line with recent empirical research showing that sparse trees and shrubs increases the biodiversity potential of pastures managed for commodity production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Róbert Gallé
- Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
- * E-mail:
| | - István Urák
- Ecosystem Services Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences—Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | | | - Tibor Hartel
- Ecosystem Services Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences—Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Responses of Ground-Dwelling Invertebrates to Gap Formation and Accumulation of Woody Debris from Invasive Species, Wind, and Salvage Logging. FORESTS 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/f8050174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Natural and anthropogenic disturbances alter canopy structure, understory vegetation, amount of woody debris, and the litter and soil layers in forest ecosystems. These environmental changes impact forest communities, including ground-dwelling invertebrates that are key regulators of ecosystem processes. Variation in frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial scale of disturbances affect the magnitude of these environmental changes and how forest communities and ecosystems are impacted over time. We propose conceptual models that describe the dynamic temporal effects of disturbance caused by invasive insects, wind, and salvage logging on canopy gap formation and accumulation of coarse woody debris (CWD), and their impacts on ground-dwelling invertebrate communities. In the context of this framework, predictions are generated and their implications for ground-dwelling invertebrate communities are discussed.
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Rozendaal DMA, Kobe RK. A Forest Tent Caterpillar Outbreak Increased Resource Levels and Seedling Growth in a Northern Hardwood Forest. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0167139. [PMID: 27870897 PMCID: PMC5117778 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In closed-canopy forests, gap formation and closure are thought to be major drivers of forest dynamics. Crown defoliation by insects, however, may also influence understory resource levels and thus forest dynamics. We evaluate the effect of a forest tent caterpillar outbreak on understory light availability, soil nutrient levels and tree seedling height growth in six sites with contrasting levels of canopy defoliation in a hardwood forest in northern lower Michigan. We compared resource levels and seedling growth of six hardwood species before, during and in the three years after the outbreak (2008-2012). Canopy openness increased strongly during the forest tent caterpillar outbreak in the four moderately and severely defoliated sites, but not in lightly defoliated sites. Total inorganic soil nitrogen concentrations increased in response to the outbreak in moderately and severely defoliated sites. The increase in total inorganic soil nitrogen was driven by a strong increase in soil nitrate, and tended to become stronger with increasing site defoliation. Seedling height growth increased for all species in the moderately and severely defoliated sites, but not in lightly defoliated sites, either during the outbreak year or in the year after the outbreak. Growth increases did not become stronger with increasing site defoliation, but were strongest in a moderately defoliated site with high soil nutrient levels. Growth increases tended to be strongest for the shade intolerant species Fraxinus americana and Prunus serotina, and the shade tolerant species Ostrya virginiana. The strong growth response of F. americana and P. serotina suggests that recurring forest tent caterpillar outbreaks may facilitate the persistence of shade intolerant species in the understory in the absence of canopy gaps. Overall, our results suggest that recurrent canopy defoliation resulting from cyclical forest insect outbreaks may be an additional driver of dynamics in temperate closed-canopy forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danaë M. A. Rozendaal
- Michigan State University, Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Building, 480 Wilson Road, Room 126, East Lansing, MI, 48824–1222, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Richard K. Kobe
- Michigan State University, Department of Forestry, Natural Resources Building, 480 Wilson Road, Room 126, East Lansing, MI, 48824–1222, United States of America
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