Alaback

Anne G. Oxbrough

Askenmo

Butterfield

Cameron

Clarke

Clausen

Curtis

De Bakker

Downie

Duelli

Fahy

Ferris

Forest Service

George F. Smith

Gravesen

Grimshaw

Gunnarsson

Haila

Halaj

Harvey

Huhta

Humphrey

John O’Halloran

Joyce

Jukes

Legendre

Lindenmayer

Marc

McGeoch

Melbourne

Moulder

Mueller-Dombois

Nentwig

Newton

Noss

Nyfeller

Oliver

Pajunen

Paul S. Giller

Pettersson

Roberts

Siira-Pietikäinen

Standen

Tom Gittings

Uetz

Willet

Crossref

Structural indicators of spider communities across the forest plantation cycle

Given the expansion of plantation forests in Ireland over recent years, there is a need to assess their impact on biodiversity and to identify how sustainable forest management strategies can incorporate biodiversity. We aimed to assess the impact of plantation forests on spider communities and identify structural indicators of their diversity. Pitfall traps were used to sample spiders in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior) plantations at different stages of the forest cycle and cover of vegetation, dead wood and soil organic content were measured within each site. Ordinations revealed that spider assemblages were separated by both forest development and canopy species across the forest cycle. The pre-thicket ash and spruce assemblages were similar, whereas canopy species had a greater effect in the more structurally developed stands. The mature ash plots formed a distinct group from the other stands. Overall species richness was highest in the spruce and ash pre-thicket stands, and in the mature spruce stands with a more open canopy. Mature ash stands had the lowest species richness. Lower field layer vegetation was positively correlated with total spider species richness and open habitat specialist species richness whereas canopy closure had a negative effect on these species variables. Forest spider species were positively correlated with litter cover, litter depth and twig cover. To enhance the diversity of open and forest spider species within a stand, the growth of lower field layer vegetation should be encouraged at all stages of the forest cycle, whilst retaining features typical of a mature forest.Within a plantation, a mosaic of different aged stands will sustain both open and forest specialists to enhance diversity. The distinct assemblages found in the mature plantations indicate that on a landscape scale, the establishment of both ash and spruce plantations will enhance overall diversity

Oxbrough, Anne

Gittings, Tom

O'Halloran, John

Giller, Paul S

Smith, George F

Edge Hill University Research Information Repository

https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/ws/files/20171540/EHRA_achrive_version_Thesis_chapter_1.pdf

Structural indicators of spider communities across the forest plantation cycle

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Edge Hill University Research Information Repository