Should Carabus (variolosus) nodulosus be considered an annex-II-species of the Habitats Directive?

Im Zuge der EU-Osterweiterung 2004 wurde der Gruben-Großlaufkäfer Carabus variolosus in den Anhang II der Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Richtlinie aufgenommen. Durch neu hinzugekommene Arten ergeben sich für die bisherigen Mitgliedsstaaten nach jetzigem Kenntnisstand keine Nachmeldepflichten von Gebieten, wohl aber möglicherweise die Pflicht, diese neuen Schutzobjekte in den bereits gemeldeten Gebieten gemäß Art. 6 zu erhalten und ihren günstigen Erhaltungszustand sicherzustellen (BALZER et al. 2004). Da Carabus variolosus s. str. ein osteuropäisches Taxon ist, das mitteleuropäische Taxon Carabus nodulosus aber regelmäßig als Unterart jener Art aufgefasst wird, stellt sich die Frage, ob die FFHRichtlinie mit der Nennung von C. variolosus auch das Taxon nodulosus mit gemeint hat. Der taxonomische Artbegriff ist nicht so eindeutig, dass sich die Frage auf taxonomischer Ebene nach heutigem Kenntnisstand abschließend beantworten ließe. Nach der rechtlichen Systematik der FFHRichtlinie ist aber - und dies muss zum Verständnis vorliegenden Aufsatzes hervorgehoben werden - ohnehin nicht entscheidend, wie sich der Sachverhalt nach Vorliegen weiterer Forschungen herausstellt, sondern, welche „wissenschaftliche Meinung“ zum Zeitpunkt der Meldung hierzu vorherrschte. Galt - zum Zeitpunkt der Aufnahme in den Anhang II - nodulosus in der überwiegenden wissenschaftlichen Meinung als Unterart von C. variolosus, und nicht als eigene Art, so gehören die Vorkommen in Mitteleuropa zum Anhang II, und vice versa. Aus diesem Grund handelt es sich bei der vorliegenden Arbeit auch ausdrücklich nicht um eine taxonomische. Vielmehr kann und muss anhand einer Literaturstudie - die das wissenschaftliche Meinungsbild und den Stand des Wissens widerspiegelt - versucht werden zu klären, ob Carabus (variolosus) nodulosus mit gemeint ist, wenn im erweiterten Anhang II der FFH-Richtlinie von „Carabus variolosus“ die Rede ist.The ground beetle Carabus variolosus FABRICIUS, 1787 is a species listed in appendix II of the EU habitats directive, as of the latest amendmend in 2004. Depending on the taxonomic point of view, this taxon includes or excludes Carabus (variolosus) nodulosus CREUTZER, 1799, a (sub)species indigenous to Central Europe. It is shown here that at the time the amendment of appendix II took place, a majority of taxonomic opinion favored the subspecific rank, and there definitely was no majority for the opposite opinion. The majority opinion is decisive for this question alone, as it implies that „Carabus variolosus sensu habitats directive“ means C. variolosus sensu latu. Thus, Carabus variolosus nodulosus should be considered a species of appendix II of the habitats directive, if no documents from the amendmend consultations exist that explicitly state the contrary. Regarding the habitat requirements of this species inhabitating pristine inundated woodland swamps this choice is very apt

Priorities for nature conservation in forests : the responsibility concept applied to Bavarian forests, using ground beetles

Der Schutz von Arten und ihren Lebensräumen ist sowohl mit naturschutzfachlichen Zielkonflikten, als auch mit Zielkonflikten mit anderen Bereichen wie der wirtschaftlichen Nutzung, behaftet. Forderungen nach dem besonderen Schutz von Lebensräumen und Arten sollten daher immer auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage fußen. Neben dem Aspekt der Gefährdung, der in modernen Roten Listen zunehmend weniger gutachterlich hergeleitet wird, gewinnt das Konzept weltweiter Verantwortung an Bedeutung, und ist bei der Festlegung eines Handlungsbedarfs im Naturschutz eine wichtige Ergänzung. Laufkäfer erfüllen alle Anforderungen an eine Modellgruppe in Bezug auf die Fragestellung der Verantwortung für Lebensräume, da sie artenreich in allen terrestrischen Lebensräumen und Höhenstufen vorkommen und gut erforscht sind. Eine Auswertung der in Wäldern vorkommenden Laufkäfer Bayerns in Bezug auf Habitatbindung, Gefährdung und Verantwortung ergibt, dass es vor allem die Lebensräume auf extremen Sonderstandorten sind, die gefährdete Arten, für die wir eine besondere Schutzverantwortung haben, beheimaten. In diesen Lebensräumen müssen die Schutzanstrengungen, die auch mit den Vorgaben des §30 BNatschG (geschützte Lebensräume) und dem Anhang I der FFH-Richtlinie (und v. a. auch den prioritären Lebensraumtypen) in starkem Maße kongruent sind, in aller Konsequenz umgesetzt werden. Für die an zonale Waldtypen wie Buchen- und Eichenwälder gebundenen Arten hingegen ergibt die Analyse, dass die bestehenden Schutzbestimmungen und Schutzgebietssysteme einschließlich vorhandener Großschutzgebiete angesichts weniger gefährdeter Verantwortungsarten offenbar ausreichen. Der konsequenteste Schutz der Wälder auf Sonderstandorten mit intakten Standortsbedingungen sollte daher - zumindest gemessen an der Gruppe der Laufkäfer - höchste Aufmerksamkeit genießen.The protection of species and habitats is burdened with trade-offs regarding both diverging conservation objectives as well as other objectives in forests, i. e. of economic interest. Calls for special protection of habitats and species or particular protection strategies should always be founded on a sound scientific basis. Besides the threat level, which in itself should thus be scientifically derived and not be based on assumptions, the concept of global responsibility needs to be taken into consideration when defining priorities and strategies for nature conservation. Ground beetles meet all requirements of a model group, since they are a diverse group occurring in all terrestrial habitats and at all elevations and are well-studied. Based on the study of ground beetles and their habitat relations in Bavarian forests, put in relation to their threat level according to the Red Data Book and the list of “responsibility species”, a comparison of the responsibilities by habitat group is presented. Particularly those habitats characterized by extreme site conditions are home to endangered species with a high responsibility level. The existing legal protection of these habitats, which are highly compatible with the EU habitats directive habitats of annex II, particularly the priority ones, needs to be enforced without any concessions. The more common forest habitats, like beech and oak forests, are home to responsibility species that can mostly be protected in managed forests, since they are currently not endangered. Speaking for ground beetles, the strictest protection of forests on extreme habitats with intact site conditions, everywhere in Bavaria, would be of the very highest current priority regarding those species we have the highest responsibility for

Ground beetles as indicator species for stand tradition and nearness to nature of broadleaved forests

Laufkäfer werden in ökologischen Studien zur Lebensraumbewertung sehr häufig als Bioindikatoren hinzugezogen (PLATEN & KOWARIK 1995, PLATNER et al. 1996, POSPISCHIL 1981), denn ihre Ökologie und die daraus resultierenden ökologischen Ansprüche sind durch zahlreiche Studien eingehend untersucht (u.a. BAEHR 1980, LINDROTH 1945, THIELE 1977). Unterschiede in der Artengemeinschaft bzw. Änderungen in der Abundanz der Carabiden lassen Rückschlüsse über Habitatqualität, Standortsfaktoren, Minimalareal- Fragen, Habitattradition und Vernetzung von Lebensräumen zu. Diese Tatsachen wurden ausgenutzt, um die Bestandstradition und die Naturnähe der Bestockung der Probeflächen zu untersuchen. Diese sind weitgehend naturnahe Wälder im südbayerischen Tertiärhügelland, einem insgesamt wenig naturnahen, forstlich durch Fichtenforste geprägten Landschaftsraum.The role of isolated near natural broadleaved forests in a landscape dominated by manmade coniferous plantations was investigated using ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as indicator species. Natural beech and ravine forests as well as near-natural secondary oak forests, and a pure spruce stand were researched using pitfall traps. The results were ordinated using CCA including 76 additional sites in similar forest associations. The carabid faunas of these associations group together rather well. Wet forests are most distinct, including natural oak-hornbeam forests and wet ravine forests. Dry ravine forests on calcareous slopes overlap with beech forests on calcareous sites to a certain degree, while acidic beech forests are distinct. The investigated isolated sites do not group with the natural reference sites well, the main reason being „size of forest“ and „size of broadleaved forest“, according to the CCA. These factors are to blame for an apparent loss of species that could be expected for these sites according to data from similar sites under different circumstances. Especially one investigation area with only about 5 hectares of completely isolated forest and a historical record of large-scale deforestation (for use as a vineyard and as a coppice-with-standards stand) is deprived of many species. In the other investigated area, Carabus purpurascens, absent from the entire tertiary hill land of southern Bavaria, was rediscovered after approximately 100 years in an oak forest. In this site, circumstances are apparently better, albeit not good, again due largely to habitat fragmentation, though not habitat tradition. The species lost on these sites are foremost stenotopic forest species with preference to broadleaved forests, species with a montane distribution and large species (several species of the genus Carabus) with accordingly large requirements for contiguous habitat. The results stress the importance of the protection of forests with a habitat tradition on a sufficient area

Future prospects of relic bog dweller Carabus menetriesi in the face of climate change

Der Hochmoorlaufkäfer (Carabus menetriesi pacholei) ist eine prioritäre Anhang-Art der FFH-Richtlinie und Art mit hoher Schutzverantwortung Deutschlands. Seine Lebensräume liegen in noch weitgehend intakten Hoch-, Übergangs- und Hochlagen-Quellmooren einschließlich von Moorwäldern. In einem prognostizierten, wärmer und trockener werdenden Klima werden einige Vorkommen außerhalb der hier vorgelegten Klimahülle zu liegen kommen und daher für die Art voraussichtlich verloren gehen. Das gilt in besonderem Maße für die endemischen Vorkommen im Voralpengebiet. Andere Vorkommen werden nur zu halten sein, wenn jegliche Anstrengungen unternommen werden, einen naturnahen Wasserhaushalt wiederherzustellen. Die Klimahülle für die Nominatform reicht etwas weiter in den trockenen und auch warmen Bereich, erfordert aber ebenfalls sämtliche Bemühungen zu ihrem Erhalt. Zu den notwendigen Maßnahmen gehört unter anderem auch die konsequente Erhaltung naturnaher Moor- und Moorrandwälder. Eine Theorie zur Erklärung der disjunkten Verbreitung im Voralpengebiet basierend auf der Vereisungsgeschichte wird präsentiert, da die Klimaverhältnisse allein die Verbreitung nicht erklären können.The raised bog large ground beetle (Carabus menetriesi pacholei) is listed as a priority species in Annex II of the EU Habitat Directive, and is a subspecies for which Germany has a very high conservation responsibility. Its habitats are largely intact raised and transitional bogs and high-elevation spring bogs, including bog forests. In the future climate that is predicted to be warmer and drier, some of this species’ habitats will likely be lost. This is particularly true for the endemic subspecies living in the pre-Alps. Other sites will only be retained if measures are undertaken to reestablish a semi-natural water regime. Among other necessary management measures is strict conservation of all natural and semi-natural bog forests and bog-edge forests. Although the climate envelope for the nominate subspecies extends farther into a drier and also slightly warmer climate, measures to protect its habitat are also warranted. A theory explaining the limited distribution in the prealpine region based on the Ice Age history is presented, since its distribution cannot be explained by the present climatic conditions alone

Methode zur Erfassung und Bewertung der FFH-Waldlebensraumtypen im Rahmen der dritten Bundeswaldinventur (BWI-2012)

Art. 11 der FFH-Richtlinie fordert die Durchführung eines flächendeckenden Monitorings u. a. des Erhaltungszustands der Lebensraumtypen (LRTen) in den Mitgliedsstaaten. In Deutschland hat die Bund-/Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Naturschutz, Landschaftspflege und Erholung (LANA) die Forstseite (FCK) gebeten, für den Nationalen FFH-Bericht die Bundeswaldinventur um eine Methodik zur Erfassung / Bewertung verbreiteter Waldlebensraumtypen (WLRTen) zu ergänzen und damit ressortübergreifende Synergieeffekte zu nutzen. Das hier beschriebene Konzept stellt eine Methode zur Erfassung und Bewertung großräumig oder häufig vorkommender FFH-WLRTen im Rahmen der dritten Bundeswaldinventur (BWI-2012) vor. Es berücksichtigt die Vorgaben der EU und des LANA-FCK-Papiers aus dem Jahr 2004. Das bundesweite FFH-Monitoring und der Nationale FFH-Bericht sehen Aussagen zum Erhaltungszustand jedes WLRTs auf Ebene der biogeographischen Regionen in Deutschland vor, nicht jedoch Aussagen auf Landesebene oder in Bezug auf noch kleinere Teilgebiete wie beispielsweise einzelne FFH-Gebiete. Die Länder können durch Umsetzung des hier beschriebenen Konzepts ein bestehendes Monitoring-System nutzen und damit ihren notwendigen Beitrag im Bereich der WLRTen zur deutschen FFH-Berichtspflicht erbringen. Die Methodik wurde von FCK und LANA angenommen und von Bund und Ländern in das BWI-Verfahren eingearbeitet. Die Erhebungsergebnisse sind in den nationalen FFH-Bericht 2013 eingeflossen. Im Nachgang zur BWI-2012 wurde die Beschreibung der Methodik aktualisiert.Article 11 of the FFH Directive mandates the implementation of nationwide monitoring, inter alia, of the conservation status of habitat types in the Member States. In Germany, the German Federal Government/Länder (federal states) Working Group on Nature Conservation, Landscape Management and Recreation (LANA) asked the Forest Directors' Conference (FCK) to supplement the National Forest Inventory with a methodology of recording and assessing prevalent forest habitat types for the national FFH report, thus making use of interdepartmental synergy effects. The scheme described herein presents a methodology for recording and assessing common or widespread FFH forest habitat types within the scope of the third National Forest Inventory (NFI 2012). In doing so, it takes into account the requirements of the EU and the LANA-FCK paper of 2004. While the nationwide FFH monitoring and the National FFH Report provide for conclusions concerning the conservation status of each forest habitat type at the level of the biogeographic regions in Germany as a whole, they do not allow conclusions at the level of the Länder or with respect to even smaller subareas such as individual FFH areas, for example. By implementing the scheme described herein, the Länder can use the monitoring system in place for their necessary contribution to the German FFH reporting obligation on forest habitat types. The elaborated methodology was adopted by the FCK and LANA and incorporated in the NFI procedure by the Federal Government and the Länder. The survey outcome has been incorporated into the 2013 national FFH report. As a follow-up to the NFI-2012, the description of the methodology has been updated

Soil temperature effects on the structure and diversity of plant and invertebrate communities in a natural warming experiment

1. Global warming is predicted to significantly alter species physiology, biotic interactions and thus ecosystem functioning, as a consequence of coexisting species exhibiting a wide range of thermal sensitivities. There is, however, a dearth of research examining warming impacts on natural communities. 2. Here, we used a natural warming experiment in Iceland to investigate the changes in above-ground terrestrial plant and invertebrate communities along a soil temperature gradient (10 degrees C-30 degrees C). 3. The alpha-diversity of plants and invertebrates decreased with increasing soil temperature, driven by decreasing plant species richness and increasing dominance of certain invertebrate species in warmer habitats. There was also greater species turnover in both plant and invertebrate communities with increasing pairwise temperature difference between sites. There was no effect of temperature on percentage cover of vegetation at the community level, driven by contrasting effects at the population level. 4. There was a reduction in the mean body mass and an increase in the total abundance of the invertebrate community, resulting in no overall change in community biomass. There were contrasting effects of temperature on the population abundance of various invertebrate species, which could be explained by differential thermal tolerances and metabolic requirements, or may have been mediated by changes in plant community composition. 5. Our study provides an important baseline from which the effect of changing environmental conditions on terrestrial communities can be tracked. It also contributes to our understanding of why community-level studies of warming impacts are imperative if we are to disentangle the contrasting thermal responses of individual populations.Peer reviewe

Biological Flora of the British Isles: Sorbus torminalis

1.This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz (Wild Service-tree) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history, and conservation.2.Sorbus torminalis is an uncommon, mostly small tree (but can reach 33 m) native to lowland England and Wales, and temperate and Mediterranean regions of mainland Europe. It is the most shade-tolerant member of the genus in the British Isles and as a result it is more closely associated with woodland than any other British species. Like other British Sorbus species, however, it grows best where competition for space and sunlight is limited. Seedlings are shade tolerant but adults are only moderately so. This, combined with its low competitive ability, restricts the best growth to open areas. In shade, saplings and young adults form a sapling bank, showing reproduction and extensive growth only when released. Sorbus torminalis tolerates a wide range of soil reaction (pH 3.5-8.0) but grows best on calcareous clays and thin soils over limestone.3.Sorbus torminalis is a sexual, diploid, non-apomictic species that has hybridised with a number of other Sorbus species to form microspecies. The hermaphrodite flowers are primarily insect pollinated. Seed production is reliable only in warm years, especially at the edge of its range, although even then seed viability is low. The fruits are primarily dispersed by carnivorous mammals. Seeds display embryo dormancy but most will germinate the first spring after falling.4.This tree is very tolerant of short droughts but only moderately tolerant of frost, hence its southerly and lowland distribution. It faces no particular individual threats although the small size of most populations makes it susceptible to habitat loss and fragmentation, particularly through the loss of open coppiced areas. As a consequence it appears to be declining throughout Britain and Europe despite its wide range of historical uses and the high value of its timber. The extent to which these losses will be offset by increases due to climate change is unknown.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Carabid beetles in peatlands - what are bog species? Clear definitions of tyrphobiontic and tyrphophilic species as used in the "Bavarian bog species basket"

Peatland species are endangered because of peat extraction and drenching of peatland in many regions, and thus are of great conservation concern. Often times, the trait of being "tyrphobiontic" or "tyrphopilous" is defined differently in the literature, yielding ambigous results. Frequently, studies of peatland fauna do not clearly define which species are characteristic of peatlands, instead focussing on other traits like red data book status etc. The group of peatland specialists should be definied by their affinity to the habitat trait of peaty soil. For many species, further factors are also relevant, like habitat tradition, elevation and regional climate, vegetation types etc., but peaty soil is a common denominator. The "Bavarian bog species basket" lists all species from different species groups that are bog species, grouping them into three clearly defined categories of peatland affinity. For carabids, a list of all 26 species in that basked is presented, and examples provided how these differ in their affinity to different bog habitats, and to bog habitats overall

What are the "characteristic species" of the habitats directive? A new statistics-driven approach connecting species, habitats and key habitat characteristics

A new understanding of ”characteristic species“ according to the Habitats Directive is presented, including a suggested definition from a scientific point of view and practical implementation. The Habitats Directive includes the mandatory evaluation criterion “characteristic species”. Although obligatory, it has largely been neglected and applied inconsistently. Reasons are the undefined character of the term and very different attempts for its interpretation. In several cases, particularly from the field of carabidology, maximum fidelity of the species has been suggested as the best criterion for defining characteristic species. In other words, the species must not occur in any other habitat type, but should be restricted intirely to the habitat it is characteristic for. As a result, for many habitats there are no, or at best very few characteristic species if this definition is strictly applied, and in many cases no characteristic species could be found even in very well-devolped and large-enough sites where the habitat occurs. Here, a completely different definiton is presented. Exclusive fidelity is decidedly not required, since this criterion aims at defining character species, which by definition serve a different purpose, which is defining a habitat, not characterizing its conservation status. The set of characteristic species of a habitat should be defined based on their statistically confirmed affinity to the habitat and an affinity or fidelity to at least one key habitat factor of the habitat type concerned. Such a key factor could be wetness in the case of wetlands, or peaty soil for bog habitats, or scree for ravines, etc. The application of characteristic species in practice, like in the mandatory assessment of projects and plans under article 6 of the habitats directive should primarily focus on the effects of the plan or purpose to be assessed. Out of the pool of characteristic species of a given habitat, those species which depend on the relevant key factors of the habitat which are possibly altered by the project or plan to be assessed can be selected and their well-being evaluated or monitored. In a second application, which is that for management of a site (also under article 6), the degree of completeness of the pool of characteristic species allows the evaluation of the conservation status. Important conclusions as to which key factors might be lacking or are in an insufficient stage can be drawn from the characteristic species missing at a given site. This can be a property related to habitat tradition, size of the habitat, isolation or certain traits of the soil or the stand types to be evaluated, depending on the particular species and their statistically proven requirements