Dataset Information

Forest management strategy affects saproxylic beetle assemblages: A comparison of even and uneven-aged silviculture using direct and indirect sampling.

ABSTRACT: Management of forest for wood production has altered ecosystem structures and processes and led to habitat loss and species extinctions, worldwide. Deadwood is a key resource supporting forest biodiversity, and commonly declines following forest management. However, different forest management methods affect dead wood differently. For example, uneven-aged silviculture maintains an age-stratified forest with ongoing dead wood production, while even-aged silviculture breaks forest continuity, leading to long periods without large trees. We asked how deadwood-dependent beetles respond to different silvicultural practices and if their responses depend on deadwood volume, and beetles preference for decay stages of deadwood. We compared beetle assemblages in five boreal forest types with different management strategies: clearcutting and thinning (both representing even-aged silviculture), selective felling (representing uneven-aged silviculture), reference and old growth forest (both uneven-aged controls without a recent history [~50 years] of management, but the latter with high conservation values). We collected beetles using window traps and by sieving the bark from experimental logs (bolts). Beetle assemblages on clear-cuts differed from all other stand types, regardless of trapping method or decay stage preference. Thinning differed from reference stands, indicating incomplete recovery after clear-cutting, while selective felling differed only from clear-cuts. In contrast to our predictions, early and late successional species responded similarly to different silvicultural practices. However, there were indications of marginal assemblage differences both between thinned stands and selective felling and between thinned and old growth stands (p = 0.10). The stand volume of early decay stage wood influenced assemblage composition of early, but not late successional species. Uneven-aged silviculture maintained species assemblages similar to those of the reference and old growth stands and might therefore be a better management option when considering biodiversity conservation.

SUBMITTER: Joelsson K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5892898 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Forest management strategy affects saproxylic beetle assemblages: A comparison of even and uneven-aged silviculture using direct and indirect sampling.

Joelsson Klara K Hjältén Joakim J Gibb Heloise H

PloS one 20180410 4

Management of forest for wood production has altered ecosystem structures and processes and led to habitat loss and species extinctions, worldwide. Deadwood is a key resource supporting forest biodiversity, and commonly declines following forest management. However, different forest management methods affect dead wood differently. For example, uneven-aged silviculture maintains an age-stratified forest with ongoing dead wood production, while even-aged silviculture breaks forest continuity, lead ...[more]

PMID: 29634728

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Project description:With an increasing pressure on forested landscapes, conservation areas may fail to maintain biodiversity if they are not supported by the surrounding managed forest matrix. Worldwide, forests are managed by one of two broad approaches-even- and uneven-aged silviculture. In recent decades, there has been rising public pressure against the systematic use of even-aged silviculture (especially clear-cutting) because of its perceived negative esthetic and ecological impacts. This led to an increased interest for uneven-aged silviculture. However, to date, there has been no worldwide ecological comparison of the two approaches, based on multiple indicators. Overall, for the 99 combinations of properties or processes verified (one study may have evaluated more than one property or process), we found nineteen (23) combinations that clearly showed uneven-aged silviculture improved the evaluated metrics compared to even-aged silviculture, eleven (16) combinations that showed the opposite, and 60 combinations that were equivocal. Furthermore, many studies were based on a limited study design without either a timescale (44 of the 76) or spatial (54 of the 76) scale consideration. Current views that uneven-aged silviculture is better suited than even-aged silviculture for maintaining ecological diversity and processes are not substantiated by our analyses. Our review, by studying a large range of indicators and many different taxonomic groups, also clearly demonstrates that no single approach can be relied on and that both approaches are needed to ensure a greater number of positive impacts. Moreover, the review clearly highlights the importance of maintaining protected areas as some taxonomic groups were found to be negatively affected no matter the management approach used. Finally, our review points to a lack of knowledge for determining the use of even- or uneven-aged silviculture in terms of both their respective proportion in the landscape and their spatial agency.

Dataset Information

Forest management strategy affects saproxylic beetle assemblages: A comparison of even and uneven-aged silviculture using direct and indirect sampling.

Publications

Forest management strategy affects saproxylic beetle assemblages: A comparison of even and uneven-aged silviculture using direct and indirect sampling.

Similar Datasets

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