Implications of reserve size and forest connectivity for the conservation of wood-inhabiting fungi in Europe

Abrego, Nerea; Bässler, Claus; Christensen, Morten; Heilmann‐Clausen, Jacob

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.07.005

Cited by 48 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…, Abrego et al. , Buse et al. ) on diversity of saproxylic taxa, ours is the first to estimate the interaction effect of patch size and habitat amount in the local landscape.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

An experimental test of the habitat‐amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles in a forested region

Seibold

Bässler

Brandl

et al. 2017

Ecology

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The habitat-amount hypothesis challenges traditional concepts that explain species richness within habitats, such as the habitat-patch hypothesis, where species number is a function of patch size and patch isolation. It posits that effects of patch size and patch isolation are driven by effects of sample area, and thus that the number of species at a site is basically a function of the total habitat amount surrounding this site. We tested the habitat-amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles and their habitat of dead wood by using an experiment comprising 190 plots with manipulated patch sizes situated in a forested region with a high variation in habitat amount (i.e., density of dead trees in the surrounding landscape). Although dead wood is a spatio-temporally dynamic habitat, saproxylic insects have life cycles shorter than the time needed for habitat turnover and they closely track their resource. Patch size was manipulated by adding various amounts of downed dead wood to the plots (~800 m³ in total); dead trees in the surrounding landscape (~240 km ) were identified using airborne laser scanning (light detection and ranging). Over 3 yr, 477 saproxylic species (101,416 individuals) were recorded. Considering 20-1,000 m radii around the patches, local landscapes were identified as having a radius of 40-120 m. Both patch size and habitat amount in the local landscapes independently affected species numbers without a significant interaction effect, hence refuting the island effect. Species accumulation curves relative to cumulative patch size were not consistent with either the habitat-patch hypothesis or the habitat-amount hypothesis: several small dead-wood patches held more species than a single large patch with an amount of dead wood equal to the sum of that of the small patches. Our results indicate that conservation of saproxylic beetles in forested regions should primarily focus on increasing the overall amount of dead wood without considering its spatial arrangement. This means dead wood should be added wherever possible including in local landscapes with low or high dead-wood amounts. For species that have disappeared from most forests owing to anthropogenic habitat degradation, this should, however, be complemented by specific conservation measures pursued within their extant distributional ranges.

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“…, Abrego et al. , Buse et al. ) on diversity of saproxylic taxa, ours is the first to estimate the interaction effect of patch size and habitat amount in the local landscape.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

An experimental test of the habitat‐amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles in a forested region

Seibold

Bässler

Brandl

et al. 2017

Ecology

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“…) and the size and connectivity of forest reserves (Abrego et al . ) alter fungal phenology. Furthermore, knowledge of long‐term priority effects and their joint regulation by top‐down and bottom‐up forces may help to design effective reintroduction of threatened fungal species for conservation (Abrego et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Priority effects are interactively regulated by top‐down and bottom‐up forces: evidence from wood decomposer communities

Leopold

Wilkie²,

Dickie

et al. 2017

Ecology Letters

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Both top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (resource availability) forces can determine the strength of priority effects, or the effects of species arrival history on the structure and function of ecological communities, but their combined influences remain unresolved. To test for such influences, we assembled experimental communities of wood-decomposing fungi using a factorial manipulation of fungivore (Folsomia candida) presence, nitrogen availability, and fungal assembly history. We found interactive effects of all three factors on fungal species composition and wood decomposition 1 year after the fungi were introduced. The strength of priority effects on community structure was affected primarily by nitrogen availability, whereas the strength of priority effects on decomposition rate was interactively regulated by nitrogen and fungivores. These results demonstrate that top-down and bottom-up forces jointly determine how strongly assembly history affects community structure and function.

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“…They have increased our understanding of the ecology of wood-inhabiting fungi, and have generally shown that habitat abundance, habitat quality and forest fragmentation influence fungal communities in complex ways, and have confirmed that some of the older indicator schemes purely based on expert opinion make sense as tools to identify sites minimally influenced by fragmentation and timber extraction (e.g. Penttilä et al 2006;Nordén et al 2007;Abrego et al 2015).…”

Section: Critique and Testing Of Proposed Surrogate Schemesmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…assessing fungi as potential umbrellas or focal species, often without stating this explicitly. These studies have analyzed the effects of silvicultural management intensity (Müller et al 2007), variety of woody debris (Abrego & Salcedo 2013) and forest fragmentation (Sverdrup-Thygeson & Lindenmayer 2003;Penttilä et al 2006;Nordén et al 2013;Abrego et al 2015). They have increased our understanding of the ecology of wood-inhabiting fungi, and have generally shown that habitat abundance, habitat quality and forest fragmentation influence fungal communities in complex ways, and have confirmed that some of the older indicator schemes purely based on expert opinion make sense as tools to identify sites minimally influenced by fragmentation and timber extraction (e.g.…”

Section: Critique and Testing Of Proposed Surrogate Schemesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The history and future of fungi as biodiversity surrogates in forests

2017

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Biodiversity surrogates are commonly used in conservation biology. Here we review how fungi have been used as such in forest conservation, emphasizing proposed surrogate roles and practical applications. We show that many fungal surrogates have been suggested based on field experience and loose concepts, rather than on rigorously collected scientific data. Yet, they have played an important role, not only in forest conservation, but also in inspiring research in fungal ecology and forest history. We argue that, even in times of ecosystem oriented conservation planning and molecular tools to analyze fungal communities, fruit bodies of macrofungi have potential as convenient conservation shortcuts and easy tools to communicate complex biodiversity for a broader audience. To improve the reliability of future fungal surrogates we propose a three step protocol for developing evidence based schemes for practical application in forest conservation.

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Implications of reserve size and forest connectivity for the conservation of wood-inhabiting fungi in Europe

Cited by 48 publications

References 56 publications

An experimental test of the habitat‐amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles in a forested region

An experimental test of the habitat‐amount hypothesis for saproxylic beetles in a forested region

Priority effects are interactively regulated by top‐down and bottom‐up forces: evidence from wood decomposer communities

The history and future of fungi as biodiversity surrogates in forests

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