Seeing the trees for the wood – beech (<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>) decay fungal volatiles influence the structure of saproxylic beetle communities

Leather, Simon R.; Baumgart, Eligiusz A.; Evans, H. F.; Quicke, Donald L. J.

doi:10.1111/icad.12055

Cited by 24 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Graham ; Saint‐Germain, Buddle & Drapeau ; Leather et al . ), and thus cannot be manipulated. Therefore, the effect of dead‐wood amount might include also an increase in the number of habitats, that is habitat heterogeneity, with increasing amount of dead wood of the same type.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity as the major drivers of beetle diversity in dead wood

Seibold

Bässler

Brandl

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

233

156

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1. Resource availability and habitat heterogeneity are principle drivers of biodiversity, but their individual roles often remain unclear since both factors are usually correlated. The biodiversity of species dependent on dead wood could be driven by either resource availability represented by dead-wood amount or habitat heterogeneity characterized by dead-wood diversity or both. Understanding their roles is crucial for improving evidence-based conservation strategies for saproxylic species in managed forests. 2. To disentangle the effects of dead-wood amount and dead-wood diversity on biodiversity relative to canopy openness (microclimate), we experimentally exposed different amounts of logs and branches of two different tree species representing a gradient of dead-wood diversity in 190 sunny and shady forest plots. During the 3 years after exposing dead wood, we sampled saproxylic beetles, which are together with fungi the most diverse and important taxonomic group involved in decomposition of wood. 3. The composition of saproxylic beetle assemblages differed clearly between shady and sunny forest plots, with higher richness in sunny plots. Both dead-wood amount and deadwood diversity positively and independently affected species richness of saproxylic beetles, but these effects were mediated by canopy openness. In sunny forest, species richness increased with increasing amount of dead wood, whereas in shady forest, dead-wood diversity was the prevailing factor. 4. The stepwise analysis of abundance and species richness, however, indicated that effects of both factors supported only the habitat-heterogeneity hypothesis, as the positive effect of high amounts of dead wood could be explained by cryptic variability of dead-wood quality within single objects. 5. Synthesis and applications. As canopy openness and habitat heterogeneity seem to be the major drivers of saproxylic beetle diversity in temperate forests, we recommend that managers aim to increase the heterogeneity of dead-wood substrates under both sunny and shady forest conditions. Intentional opening of the canopy should be considered in anthropogenically homogenized, dense forests. Specifically in temperate mixed montane forests, dead wood should be provided in the form of large logs in sunny habitats and a high diversity of different dead-wood substrates should be retained or created in shady forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity as the major drivers of beetle diversity in dead wood

Seibold

Bässler

Brandl

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

233

156

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For example, temperature, wood density, water content and decay stage can considerably vary within large logs (e.g. Graham, 1924;Leather, Baumgart, Evans, & Quicke, 2014;Saint-Germain, Buddle, & Drapeau, 2010). Therefore, the effect of dead-wood size might include an increase in the number of habitats (niches), that is, habitat heterogeneity, which is an important driver of saproxylic beetle richness (Seibold, Bässler, Brandl, et al, 2016).…”

Section: The Importance Of Host Species and Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Independent effects of host and environment on the diversity of wood‐inhabiting fungi

et al. 2018

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Dead wood is a habitat for numerous fungal species, many of which are important agents of decomposition. Previous studies suggested that wood‐inhabiting fungal communities are affected by climate, availability of dead wood in the surrounding landscape and characteristics of the colonized dead‐wood object (e.g. host tree species). These findings indicate that different filters structure fungal communities at different scales, but how these factors individually drive fungal fruiting diversity on dead‐wood objects is unknown. We conducted an orthogonal experiment comprising 180 plots (0.1 ha) in a random block design and measured fungal fruit body richness and community composition on 720 dead‐wood objects over the first 4 years of succession. The experiment allowed us to disentangle the effects of the host (beech and fir; logs and branches) and the environment (microclimate: sunny and shady plots; local dead wood: amount and heterogeneity of dead wood added to plot). Variance partitioning revealed that the host was more important than the environment for the diversity of wood‐inhabiting fungi. A more detailed model revealed that host tree species had the highest independent effect on richness and community composition of fruiting species of fungi. Host size had significant but low independent effects on richness and community composition of fruiting species. Canopy openness significantly affected the community composition of fruiting species. By contrast, neither local amount nor heterogeneity of dead wood significantly affected the fungal diversity measures. Synthesis. Our study identified host tree species as a more important driver of the diversity of wood‐inhabiting fungi than the environment, which suggests a host‐centred filter of this diversity in the early phase of the decomposition process. For the conservation of wood‐inhabiting fungi, a high variety of host species in various microclimates is more important than the availability of dead wood at the stand level.

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“…Moreover, the composition of volatile chemicals in a dead-wood object clearly changes during the first two years after dying off: Directly after felling, the wood emits mostly aldehydes, which are first replaced by various alcohols and then by longer chain carbon compounds that arise as fungal activity increases (Holighaus & Sch€ utz, 2006). Thus, the overall profile of volatile chemicals of a log is characterised by the combination of wood characteristics and the fungal community (Leather et al, 2013). These different profiles can be differentiated by saproxylic beetles (F€ aldt et al, 1999;Weissbecker et al, 2004).…”

Section: Colonisation Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While beetles colonising dead wood at the initial stages, e.g. phloeophagous bark beetles, use volatile chemicals emitted by weakened trees or fresh dead wood (Renwick & Vite, 1969), species of latersuccessional stages, many of which are mycetophagous or predatory, rely on other volatile chemicals that originate from decaying wood and/or associated fungi to locate trunks in suitable condition (Guevara et al, 2000b;Leather et al, 2013). Some of these species are able to differentiate between sporocarps of different fungal species, sporocarps and mycelia of the same fungal species, or sporocarps of the same fungi species at different developmental stages (Guevara et al, 2000a;Jonsell et al, 2005;Johansson et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood resource and not fungi attract early‐successional saproxylic species of Heteroptera – an experimental approach

Seibold

Bässler

Baldrián

et al. 2014

Insect Conserv Diversity

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1. The availability of dead wood and ability to colonise these ephemeral structures are crucial for sustaining vital populations of saproxylic insects. These insects locate suitable resources mostly visually and via olfactory cues emitted by dead wood and/or wood-decaying fungi.2. For the conservation of saproxylic species of Heteroptera, a poorly studied group with a high proportion of threatened species, it is crucial to know which dead-wood structures are needed and how they are detected and colonised.3. In a field experiment, we exposed different amounts of dead-wood logs and branches of the main tree species of montane beech forests (Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica) on sunny and shady forest plots. We sampled saproxylic heteropterans and sporocarps of wood-decaying fungi in two consecutive years to test the hypothesis that early-successional saproxylic heteropterans are more attracted to wood-decaying fungi than to wood itself.4. The activity densities of saproxylic heteropterans measured with flightinterception traps increased with increasing surface of coarse woody debris and was higher under sunny conditions. Tree species, fine woody debris and abundance of sporocarps had no significant effect. 5. Our results suggest that during the early-successional forest stage, dead wood provides more important cues than fungi in the search of saproxylic heteropterans for suitable hosts despite assumed close associations of the insects and certain fungal species. To improve habitats for saproxylic heteropterans, we recommend increasing the supply of dead wood of large diameter (>30 cm) in montane beech forests, particularly in sunny gaps. This can easily be realised during logging operations by gap felling.

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Seeing the trees for the wood – beech (Fagus sylvatica) decay fungal volatiles influence the structure of saproxylic beetle communities

Cited by 24 publications

References 66 publications

Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity as the major drivers of beetle diversity in dead wood

Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity as the major drivers of beetle diversity in dead wood

Independent effects of host and environment on the diversity of wood‐inhabiting fungi

Wood resource and not fungi attract early‐successional saproxylic species of Heteroptera – an experimental approach

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