scholarly journals Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles in urban boreal forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Koivula
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Urban Forests ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
Open Habitat ◽  
Human Safety ◽  
Evenness Indices ◽  
Associated Species ◽  
Pterostichus Oblongopunctatus

Urban forests are regularly managed for human safety and aesthetic reasons, but they are crucial habitat for many species. Removals of undergrowth occur commonly in these forests, yet the ecological consequences of these operations are poorly understood. We sampled ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) along 20-m edge gradients in Finnish urban forests, in five stands treated 0.5−2.5 years earlier with undergrowth removal and in five untreated stands. We hypothesized that undergrowth removal and edge proximity would benefit opportunistic and open-habitat species, whereas shady-habitat species would be affected negatively. Diversity and evenness indices, open-habitat species and Carabus nemoralis responded positively, and forest species, Leistus terminatus and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus responded negatively, to the undergrowth removal. Edge proximity had little effect on carabids. Diversity and evenness indices, open-habitat species and Carabus nemoralis responded positively, and forest species, Leistus terminatus and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus responded negatively, to the undergrowth removal. Edge proximity had little effect on carabids. However, open-habitat carabids were less abundant and less speciose 10−20 m from than right at the edge. We conclude that, while managing urban forests, undergrowth removals should be avoided at sites that host rare or threatened forest-associated species.

scholarly journals Features of ground beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) assemblages in areas of meadow biocenosis with and without Sosnovsky’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi)

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Elena S. Pliskevich
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Heracleum Sosnowskyi ◽  
Beetle Assemblages ◽  
Biodiversity Index ◽  
Meadow Species ◽  
Pterostichus Oblongopunctatus

As a result of a study conducted in 2018, 41 species of ground beetles from 23 genera were identified in the Ushachsky District of the Vitebsk Region (Belarusian Lakeland) as a part of ground beetle assemblages of meadow biocenosis with clogging by the invasive Sosnovsky’s hogweed, whereas without clogging with hogweed 38 species from 21 genera were identified. Species Notiophilus biguttatus (Fabricius, 1779), Dyschiriodes globosus (Herbst, 1784), Bembidion quadrimaculatum (Linnaeus, 1761), Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Fabricius, 1787), P. minor (Gyllenhal, 1827), P. nigrita (Paykull, 1790), Platynus assimilis (Paykull, 1790), P. krynickii (Sperk, 1835), Bradycellus caucasicus (Chaudoir, 1846), Ophonus laticollis (Mannerheim, 1825), Harpalus latus (Linnaeus, 1758), H. progrediens (Schauberger, 1922), Badister bullatus (Schrank, 1798) were recorded only in the biocenosis with clogging with hogweed. The species richness and the value of the biodiversity index of the ground beetle assemblages of the meadow biocenosis with clogging with hogweed were higher than these parameters of the ground beetle assemblages of the meadow biocenosis without hogweed. In the conditions of invasive hogweed thickets stratobionts boreholes dominated in the ground beetle assemblages (relative abundance 28.57 %), the participation of eurytopic (6 species, 20.37 %) and forest species (7 species, 12.01 %) was high, with a decrease in the share of participation meadow species (3 species, 1.37 %). For the biocenosis littered with hogweed, a high proportion of mesophiles (19 species, 52.44 %) was observed, against the background of a low proportion of mesogyrophils (9 species, 37.69 %).

Saproxylic insect assemblages in Canadian forests: diversity, ecology, and conservation

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Langor ◽  
H.E. James Hammond ◽  
John R. Spence ◽  
Joshua Jacobs ◽  
Tyler P. Cobb
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Managed Forests ◽  
Saproxylic Insects ◽  
Associated Species ◽  
Experimental Burns

AbstractSaproxylic insect assemblages inhabiting dead wood in Canadian forests are highly diverse and variable but quite poorly understood. Adequate assessment of these assemblages poses significant challenges with respect to sampling, taxonomy, and analysis. Their assessment is nonetheless critical to attaining the broad goals of sustainable forest management because such species are disproportionately threatened elsewhere by the reductions in dead wood generally associated with commercial exploitation of northern forests. The composition of the saproxylic fauna is influenced by many factors, including tree species, degree of decay, stand age, and cause of tree death. Wildfire and forest harvesting have differential impacts on saproxylic insect assemblages and on their recovery in postdisturbance stands. Exploration of saproxylic insect responses to variable retention harvesting and experimental burns is contributing to the development of prescriptions for conserving saproxylic insects in boreal forests. Understanding of processes that determine diversity patterns and responses of saproxylic insects would benefit from increased attention to natural history. Such work should aim to provide a habitat-classification system for dead wood to better identify habitats (and associated species) at risk as a result of forest management. This tool could also be used to improve strategies to better maintain saproxylic organisms and their central nutrient-cycling functions in managed forests.

scholarly journals The ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of forest altitudinal zones of the eastern part of the Krušné hory Mts.

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 456-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kula ◽  
L. Purchart
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Faunal Similarity ◽  
Pterostichus Oblongopunctatus

By means of S&ouml;rensen&rsquo;s index and Renkonen&rsquo;s number, the differences in species composition and abundance of the ground beetles (Carabidae) were specified in 5 forest altitudinal zones (3<sup>rd</sup>, 5<sup>th</sup>&ndash;8<sup>th</sup>) and also the faunal similarity in the linking-up forest altitudinal zones. The entry of some species (Carabus coriaceus, Carabus violaceus, Pterostichus niger and Pterostichus oblongopunctatus) into higher altitudes was much more marked than is mentioned in hitherto published information. The objective of the present study was to explore the potential use of the ground beetles as an ancillary component of the geobiocoenological typological system.

scholarly journals Succession of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities after windthrow disturbance in a montane Norway spruce forest in the Hrubý Jeseník Mts. (Czech Republic)

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Kašák ◽  
Jiří Foit ◽  
Marek Hučín
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Norway Spruce ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Relict Species ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Intensively Managed

Abstract Wind disturbances are a key factor that is significantly involved in the life cycle of natural boreomontane coniferous forests. As most of these forests are currently intensively managed, we have limited knowledge on succession following natural disturbance. Succession in a Norway spruce stand after a windthrow event was studied using ground beetles as model bioindication taxa in the Hrubý Jeseník Mts. (Czech Republic). The study documented that the composition of ground beetle communities was significantly associated with stand age and its microclimatic parameters (particularly the minimal temperature and average and minimal humidity). Forest species including prey specialists, hygrophilous species, as well as habitat generalists were the most abundant in the mature stand, where the forest had the highest humidity and the least profound minimal temperatures. In contrast, open-habitat species, including euryoecious species and relict species of higher elevations, reached their highest abundances in clearing shortly after the windthrow. In clearing the humidity was lower and the temperature fluctuated significantly (the lowest minimal temperatures). Ground beetles, including forest species, were the least abundant in young stands (10 and 20 years after windthrow). We conclude that old stands are of particular importance because they harbour the highest abundance and diversity of ground beetles with various ecological requirements. Natural wind disturbances are important as well since they increase diversity by enabling the occurrence of many non-forest species. Hence, a mosaic of stands of different ages with a sufficient proportion of old stands should be maintained when managing montane coniferous forests.

scholarly journals Effects of undergrowth removal and edge proximity on ground beetles and vascular plants in urban boreal forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Koivula ◽  
Tiina Virta ◽  
Markku Kuitunen ◽  
Elisa Vallius
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Ground Beetles

scholarly journals Analysis of the Effect of Climate Warming on Paludification Processes: Will Soil Conditions Limit the Adaptation of Northern Boreal Forests to Climate Change? A Synthesis

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1176
Author(s):  
Ahmed Laamrani ◽  
Osvaldo Valeria ◽  
Abdelghani Chehbouni ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Peat Accumulation

Northern boreal forests are characterized by accumulation of accumulation of peat (e.g., known as paludification). The functioning of northern boreal forest species and their capacity to adapt to environmental changes appear to depend on soil conditions. Climate warming is expected to have particularly pronounced effects on paludified boreal ecosystems and can alter current forest species composition and adaptation by changing soil conditions such as moisture, temperature regimes, and soil respiration. In this paper, we review and synthesize results from various reported studies (i.e., 88 research articles cited hereafter) to assess the effects of climatic warming on soil conditions of paludified forests in North America. Predictions that global warming may increase the decomposition rate must be considered in combination with its impact on soil moisture, which appears to be a limiting factor. Local adaptation or acclimation to current climatic conditions is occurring in boreal forests, which is likely to be important for continued ecosystem stability in the context of climate change. The most commonly cited response of boreal forest species to global warming is a northward migration that tracks the climate and soil conditions (e.g., temperature and moisture) to which they are adapted. Yet, some constraints may influence this kind of adaptation, such as water availability, changes in fire regimes, decomposer adaptations, and the dynamic of peat accumulation. In this paper, as a study case, we examined an example of potential effects of climatic warming on future paludification changes in the eastern lowland region of Canada through three different combined hypothetical scenarios based on temperature and precipitation (e.g., unchanged, increase, or decrease). An increase scenario in precipitation will likely favor peat accumulation in boreal forest stands prone to paludification and facilitate forested peatland expansion into upland forest, while decreased or unchanged precipitation combined with an increase in temperature will probably favor succession of forested peatlands to upland boreal forests. Each of the three scenarios were discussed in this study, and consequent silvicultural treatment options were suggested for each scenario to cope with anticipated soil and species changes in the boreal forests. We concluded that, despite the fact boreal soils will not constrain adaptation of boreal forests, some consequences of climatic warming may reduce the ability of certain species to respond to natural disturbances such as pest and disease outbreaks, and extreme weather events.

Effects of habitat edges and trampling on the distribution of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in urban forests

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 883-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Johan Kotze ◽  
Susanna Lehvävirta ◽  
Matti Koivula ◽  
Robert B. O’Hara ◽  
John R. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Urban Forests ◽  
Ground Beetles

scholarly journals The Effect of Landscape on the Diversity in Urban Green Areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Kirichenko-Babko ◽  
Grzegorz Łagód ◽  
Dariusz Majerek ◽  
Małgorzata Franus ◽  
Roman Babko
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ground Beetles ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Natural Landscape ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Areas ◽  
Green Areas ◽  
High Species Richness ◽  
The City

Abstract This article presented the results of a comparative analysis of carabid species compositions (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in urban green areas of the City of Lublin, Eastern Poland. In this study, the occurrence and abundance of ground beetles were analysed according to habitat preference and dispersal ability. A total of 65 carabid species were found in the three green areas. Obviously, the high species richness of ground beetles in the greenery of the Lublin is determined by the mostly undeveloped floodplain of the river Bystrzyca. The species richness of carabids and their relative abundance decrease in the assemblage of green areas under the effect of isolation of green patches and fragmentation of the semi-natural landscape elements in the urban environment. Generalists and open-habitat species significantly prevailed in all green areas. The prevailing of riparian and forest species at floodplain sites of the river Bystrzyca demonstrated the existence of a connection of the carabid assemblage with landscape of river valley. The Saski Park and gully “Rury” are more influenced by urbanization (fragmentation, isolation of green patches) and recreation that is consistent with the significant prevalence of open-habitats species in the carabid beetle assemblage.

scholarly journals What are the effects of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on boreal forest biodiversity in Fennoscandia and European Russia? A systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sini Savilaakso ◽  
Anna Johansson ◽  
Matti Häkkilä ◽  
Anne Uusitalo ◽  
Terhi Sandgren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Natural Forest ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Open Habitat ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance

Abstract Background Forest harvesting changes forest habitat and impacts forest dependent species. Uneven-aged management is often considered better for biodiversity than even-aged management, but there is an ongoing discourse over the benefits and disadvantages of different silvicultural systems. This systematic review contributes to the public discussion and provides evidence for policy making by synthesising current evidence on impacts of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on biodiversity in boreal forests of Fennoscandia and European Russia. In this review even-aged and uneven-aged forest management are compared directly to each other as well as to natural forest to provide a broad basis for public discussion. Methods Both peer-reviewed and grey literature were searched in bibliographical databases, organizational webpages and internet search engines in English, Finnish, Swedish and Russian. Articles were screened for relevance by their title/abstract and again by full text. The inclusion of studies was assessed against pre-defined criteria published in an a priori protocol. A narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were conducted to describe the evidence base and to compare species richness and abundance between differently managed forests. The influence of habitat specialism, taxon, years since harvesting, deadwood availability and harvesting intensity on species richness and abundance were also tested. Review findings Searching identified 43,621 articles of which 137 articles with 854 studies had independent data and were included in the narrative synthesis. Of those, 547 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The most studied taxa were arthropods, vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi, and lichens. Results showed that forests with less disturbance (uneven-aged and mature even-aged) host more forest dependent species than young even-aged forests (< 80 years old) although the difference was only marginally significant for mature even-aged forests (> 80 years old). Uneven-aged forest had similar number of species and individuals than natural forest whereas even-aged forest had less species than natural forest. Open habitat species and their individuals were more numerous in young even-aged forests and forests undergone retention harvest. Effect sizes found were mostly large indicating strong and uniform impact of forest management based on species’ habitat preferences. In addition to habitat specialism, years since harvest explained some of the differences found in species richness and abundance due to increase of open habitat species in the early successional stages and forest dependent species in late successional stages. Taxon had limited explanatory power. Conclusions Habitat preferences determine species’ response to different harvesting methods and the magnitude of effect is large. Less disturbance from harvesting is better for forest dependent species whereas opposite is true for open habitat species. Uneven-aged and mature even-aged forests (> 80 years old) are important to maintain biodiversity in boreal forests. However, the results also highlight that natural forests are needed to ensure the future of forest dependent species in Fennoscandia and European Russia. Given that a broader set of biodiversity aspects are to be protected, best overall biodiversity impacts for a variety of species at landscape level can be achieved by ensuring that there is a mosaic of different forests within landscapes.

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