Single dead trees matter: Small-scale canopy gaps increase the species richness, diversity and abundance of birds breeding in a temperate deciduous forest

Lewandowski, Paweł; Przepióra, Fabian; Ciach, Michał

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118693

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Natural disturbance processes are important components of rewilded woodlands, causing tree mortality and canopy gaps to support biodiversity [ 81 ], or maintaining a mosaic of open habitats through large herbivore browsing [ 43 , 75 ]. The accumulation of significant deadwood in maturing secondary woodland, as in the Old Wilderness within 50–60 years, provides further important habitat for saproxylic species, as well as nutrient flow and carbon storage [ 82 , 83 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term woodland restoration on lowland farmland through passive rewilding

et al. 2021

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Natural succession of vegetation on abandoned farmland provides opportunities for passive rewilding to re-establish native woodlands, but in Western Europe the patterns and outcomes of vegetation colonisation are poorly known. We combine time series of field surveys and remote sensing (lidar and photogrammetry) to study woodland development on two farmland fields in England over 24 and 59 years respectively: the New Wilderness (2.1 ha) abandoned in 1996, and the Old Wilderness (3.9 ha) abandoned in 1961, both adjacent to ancient woodland. Woody vegetation colonisation of the New Wilderness was rapid, with 86% vegetation cover averaging 2.9 m tall after 23 years post-abandonment. The Old Wilderness had 100% woody cover averaging 13.1 m tall after 53 years, with an overstorey tree-canopy (≥ 8 m tall) covering 91%. By this stage, the structural characteristics of the Old Wilderness were approaching those of neighbouring ancient woodlands. The woody species composition of both Wildernesses differed from ancient woodland, being dominated by animal-dispersed pedunculate oak Quercus robur and berry-bearing shrubs. Tree colonisation was spatially clustered, with wind-dispersed common ash Fraxinus excelsior mostly occurring near seed sources in adjacent woodland and hedgerows, and clusters of oaks probably resulting from acorn hoarding by birds and rodents. After 24 years the density of live trees in the New Wilderness was 132/ha (57% oak), with 390/ha (52% oak) in the Old Wilderness after 59 years; deadwood accounted for 8% of tree stems in the former and 14% in the latter. Passive rewilding of these ‘Wilderness’ sites shows that closed-canopy woodland readily re-established on abandoned farmland close to existing woodland, it was resilient to the presence of herbivores and variable weather, and approached the height structure of older woods within approximately 50 years. This study provides valuable long-term reference data in temperate Europe, helping to inform predictions of the potential outcomes of widespread abandonment of agricultural land in this region.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term woodland restoration on lowland farmland through passive rewilding

et al. 2021

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“…Opening the tree canopy changes the temperature, solar radiation, humidity and wind speed along gradients from the water’s edge into the stand interior (Chen et al, 1995; Muscolo et al, 2014); this aspect, in turn, mediates the species composition (Fraver, 1994). In consequence, bird communities in forest canopy gaps of different origin are more diverse and abundant (Fuller, 2000; Moorman et al, 2012; Lewandowski et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem engineers cause biodiversity spill-over: beavers affect breeding bird assemblages on both wetlands and adjacent terrestrial habitats

Fedyń,

Sobociński,

Czyżowicz

et al. 2024

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The influence of ecosystem engineers on habitats and communities is commonly acknowledged in a site-bounded context, i.e. in places directly affected by the presence of the focal species. However, the spatial extent of the effects of such engineering is poorly understood, raising the question as to what impact they have on ecosystems situated beyond the species` direct influence. Beavers Castor spp., iconic ecosystem engineers, are capable of significantly transforming aquatic ecosystems. Their presence boosts biodiversity in near-water habitats, but as a result of cascading processes, beavers may affect terrestrial habitats situated beyond the range of their immediate activity. Our study investigates the breeding bird assemblage along a spatial gradient from the water to the forest interior on central European watercourses modified and unmodified by beavers. The results show that beaver sites are characterized by a higher species richness and abundance of breeding birds than unmodified watercourses. Such sites also host a different species pool, as 27% of the recorded bird species occurred exclusively on the beaver sites. The effect of the beaver`s presence on the bird assemblage caused this to spill over from the wetlands to adjacent terrestrial habitats located up to 100 m from the water`s edge, where the species richness and abundance was higher and the species composition was substantially modified. We also found a positive correlation between the total area of beaver wetland and the numbers of bird species and individuals recorded. Our study indicates that beaver activity has major consequences for ecosystem functioning that extend beyond the wetland, spilling over on to adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. These findings add to the general understanding of the spatial context of the ecosystem engineering concept, as the changes brought about by engineers have an influence beyond the area of their immediate occurrence. Our work also has implications for landscape planning and management, where existing beaver sites with terrestrial buffer zones may constitute a network of biodiversity hot-spots.

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“…The forests in the BNP are inhabited by large mammals such as European bison Bison bonasus , red deer Cervus elaphus and brown bears Ursus arctos , which can damage individual trees through bark scratching or stripping (Broughton et al, 2022). The area hosts eight species of woodpeckers: great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major , white-backed woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos , middle spotted woodpecker Dendrocoptes medius , lesser spotted woodpecker Dryobates minor , grey-headed woodpecker Picus canus , European green woodpecker Picus viridis , Eurasian three-toed woodpecker Picoides tridactylus and black woodpecker Dryocopus martius (Głowaciński, 2016; Lewandowski et al, 2021), all of which excavate cavities of various sizes. The area also hosts large saproxylic beetles, such as the rosalia longicorn Rosalia alpina , whose larval emergence holes are up to 1.5 cm in width (Ciach and Michalcewicz, 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Steep slopes exacerbate the risks of rock or snow avalanches, which can result in tree damage, increasing the prevalence of trees with bark loss or root buttress cavities (Homma, 1997; Šilhán, 2010; Pop et al, 2016; Larrieu et al, 2022). Small-scale disturbances caused by strong winds and heavy snowfall may kill a single tree or a group of them, resulting in the emergence of canopy gaps (Lewandowski et al, 2021), which may then become local concentrations of TreM-rich damaged, injured or dead standing trees (Hobi et al, 2015). Moreover, local variations in topography introduce diverse soil and hydrological conditions, and canopy gaps produced by small-scale disturbances increase the insolation (Hobi et al 2015; Metzen et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial distribution of Tree-related Microhabitats in a primeval mountain forest: from natural patterns to landscape planning and forest management recommendations

Przepióra,

Lewandowski,

Ciach

2024

Preprint

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Tree-related Microhabitats (TreMs) are essential for sustaining forest biodiversity. Although TreMs represent ephemeral resources that are spread across the landscape, their spatial distribution within temperate forests remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a study on 90 sample plots (0.05 ha each) located in a primeval mountain European beech Fagus sylvatica-dominated forest (Bieszczady Mountains, Carpathians). We explored the TreM profile with its link to habitat characteristics and described the spatial distribution of TreM indices. We identified 61 TreM types, with a mean richness of 19.7 +-4.9 SD TreM types per plot, a mean density of 740.7 +-292.5 SD TreM-bearing trees ha-1 and a mean TreM diversity of 1.2 +-0.1 SD. The diameter and living status of trees (living vs dead standing tree) were correlated with TreM richness on an individual tree. The stand structure, i.e. density and/or basal area of living and/or dead standing trees, and topographic conditions, i.e. slope exposure, were correlated with the TreM richness, density and diversity recorded on a study plot. We found no relationship between TreM richness, density and diversity and the presence of canopy gaps, which indicates that the influence of small-scale disturbances on the TreM profile is limited. However, our analysis revealed a clustered spatial pattern of TreM indices, with TreM-rich habitat patches (hot-spots) covering ~20% of the forest. A moderate TreM richness, density and diversity dominated ~60% of the forest, while TreM-poor habitat patches (cold-spots) covered ~20%. Based on our findings, we advise the transfer of knowledge on the spatial distribution of TreMs from primeval to managed forests and advocate the '2:6:2' triad rule: to allocate 20% of forests as strictly protected areas, to dedicate 60% to low-intensity forest management with the retention of large living trees and all dead standing trees, and to use the remaining 20% for intensive timber production. To ensure the continuance of the majority of TreM types, ≥ 55 living trees ha-1 > 60 cm in diameter should be retained. Such an approach will maintain a rich and diverse TreM assemblage across a broad spatial scale, which in turn will support biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration in secondary or managed forests.

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Single dead trees matter: Small-scale canopy gaps increase the species richness, diversity and abundance of birds breeding in a temperate deciduous forest

Cited by 28 publications

References 90 publications

Long-term woodland restoration on lowland farmland through passive rewilding

Long-term woodland restoration on lowland farmland through passive rewilding

Ecosystem engineers cause biodiversity spill-over: beavers affect breeding bird assemblages on both wetlands and adjacent terrestrial habitats

Spatial distribution of Tree-related Microhabitats in a primeval mountain forest: from natural patterns to landscape planning and forest management recommendations

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