Impact of Forest Seral Stage on use of Ant Communities for Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Ecosystem Health

Abstract

Bioassessment evaluates ecosystem health by using the responses of a community of organisms that integrate all aspects of the ecosystem. A variety of bioassessment methods have been applied to aquatic ecosystems; however, terrestrial methods are less advanced. The objective of this study was to examine baseline differences in ant communities at different seral stages from clear cut to mature pine plantation as a precursor to developing a broader terrestrial bioassessment protocol. Comparative sampling was conducted at nine sites having four seral stages: clearcut, 5 year recovery, 15 year recovery, and mature stands. Soil and vegetation data were also collected at each site. Ants were identified to genus. Analysis of the ant data indicated that ants respond strongly to habitat changes that accompany ecological succession in managed pine forests, and both individual genera and ant community structure can be used as indicators of successional change. Ants exhibited relatively high diversity in both early and mature seral stages. High ant diversity in mature seral stages was likely related to conditions on the forest floor favoring litter dwelling and cold climate specialists. While ants may be very useful in identifying environmental stress in managed pine forests, adjustments must be made for seral stage when comparing impacted and unimpacted forests.

Selective logging in public pine forests of the central Iberian Peninsula: Effects of the recovery process on ant assemblages

“…Keep in mind that when we compare short and long times after logging, the time intervals are 0-4 years (short) and more than 8 years (long), with a maximum of 14 years. In studies that compare different types of forest management practices and ant assemblages, periods of time between the extraction of timber, or the time difference between the categories being compared are much longer (see Wike et al (2010) for a managed pine plantation with harvest cycles of 20-25 years). Maeto and Sato (2004) consider second growth native forests (30-70 years old) and old growth native forests with no records of clearance for at least 120 years.…”

The Ants of Nantucket: Unexpectedly High Biodiversity in an Anthropogenic Landscape

“…Elsewhere in the world, deforested and heavily grazed ecosystems generally support fewer ant species than forested and ungrazed habitats (e.g., Bestelmeyer and Wiens 1996, Dunn 2004, Wike et al 2010). However, ant species richness has been shown to increase with human population density in some anthropogenic landscapes (Schlick-Stenier et al 2008), but their relationship between population density, island area, and ant species richness predicts < 12 ant species for Nantucket.…”

Relations between the design and management of Senegalese orchards and ant diversity and community composition

“…All can be done in a relatively short time and for a low cost (Underwood and Fisher, 2006). Ant communities have been shown to respond quickly to changes in vegetation stages (Wike et al, 2010). In addition, ants are good biodiversity indicators because their diversity is representative of overall diversity and the assemblage composition of other groups, and can be characterised in a specified area relatively quickly and easily (Majer et al, 2007).…”