Historical natural disturbances shape spruce primary forest structure and indirectly influence bird assemblage composition

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

卷:481

Article

Kameniar, Ondrej¹  Balaz, Michal²  Svitok, Marek^3,4  Reif, Jiri⁵  Mikolas, Martin^1,7  Pettit, Joseph L.¹  Keeton, William S.⁸  Pettit, Jessika M.¹  Vostarek, Ondrej¹  Langbehn, Thomas¹  Trotsiuk, Volodymyr^1,9  Morelli, Federico⁶  Frankovic, Michal¹  Kozak, Daniel¹  Janda, Pavel¹  Cada, Vojtech¹  Ferencik, Matej¹  Malek, Jakub¹  Begovic, Kresimir¹  Synek, Michal¹  Labusova, Jana¹  Svobodova, Kristyna¹  Svoboda, Miroslav¹ 

[1] Czech Univ Life Sci Prague, Fac Forestry & Wood Sci, Kamycka 129, Prague 16521 6, Czech Republic

[2] Catholic Univ Ruzomberok, Fac Educ, Hrabovska Cesta 1, Ruzomberok 03401, Slovakia

[3] Univ South Bohemia, Dept Ecosyst Biol, Fac Sci, Branisovska 1760, CZ-37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

[4] Tech Univ Zvolen, Dept Biol & Gen Ecol, Fac Ecol & Environm Sci, Masaryka 24, SK-96001 Zvolen, Slovakia

[5] Charles Univ Prague, Inst Environm Studies, Fac Sci, Albertov 6, Prague 12843 2, Czech Republic

[6] Czech Univ Life Sci Prague, Fac Environm Sci Community Ecol & Conservat, Kamycka 129, CZ-16500 Prague 6, Czech Republic

[7] PRALES, Odtrnovie 563, Rosina 01322, Slovakia

[8] Univ Vermont, Rubenstein Sch Environm & Nat Resources, 81 Carrigan Dr, Burlington, VT USA

[9] Swiss Fed Inst Forest Snow & Landscape Res WSL, Forest Dynam Res Unit, Zurcherstr 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

关键词: Dendrochronology;    Mountain temperate forests;    Disturbance history;    Carpathian Mountains;    Forest dynamics;    Bird habitats;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118647

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Understanding the processes shaping the composition of assemblages in response to disturbance events is crucial for preventing ongoing biodiversity loss in forest ecosystems. However, studies of forest biodiversity responses to disturbance typically analyze immediate or short-term impacts only, while studies relating long-term disturbance history to biodiversity assemblage dynamics are rare. To address this important knowledge gap, we used a dendroecological approach to link natural disturbance history of 250 years (1750-2000) to structural habitat elements and, in turn, to breeding bird assemblages. We used data collected in 2017 and 2018 from 58 permanent study plots within 10 primary spruce forest stands distributed across the Western Carpathian Mountains of Europe. This dataset contained breeding bird counts and environmental variables describing forest density, tree diameter distribution, tree height, tree micmhabitats, deadwood quantity and quality, and regeneration. Bird assemblages were significantly influenced by forest structure which was in turn shaped by disturbance dynamics (disturbance frequency, time since the last disturbance and its severity). Early successional species associated with more open habitats were positively influenced by disturbance-related structure (i.e. deadwood-related variables, canopy cover), while some species responded negatively. At the same time, overall abundance, species richness and Shannon diversity of the bird assemblage remained unchanged under variable disturbance histories. Our results support a view of primary spruce forests as a highly dynamic ecosystem, harbouring populations of bird species at all stages of succession despite significant structural changes and shifting patch mosaics over time due to natural disturbances.

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