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Short- and long-term benefits for forest biodiversity of retaining unlogged patches in harvested areas
Citation
Baker, SC and Halpern, CB and Wardlaw, TJ and Crawford, RL and Bigley, RE and Edgar, GJ and Evans, SA and Franklin, JF and Jordan, GJ and Karpievitch, YV and Spies, TA and Thompson, RJ, Short- and long-term benefits for forest biodiversity of retaining unlogged patches in harvested areas, Forest Ecology and Management, 353 pp. 187-195. ISSN 0378-1127 (2015) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 Elsevier
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.021
Abstract
Aggregated retention, in which patches of trees (aggregates) remain unlogged within larger harvested
units, was first applied commercially in 1986. A primary goal was to maintain greater diversity of
forest-dependent species through harvest, relative to conventional clearcutting. Despite its global
application, the long-term benefits for biodiversity and the comparative responses of disparate
taxonomic groups to aggregated retention are largely unknown. A critical knowledge gap relates to the
role of ‘forest influence’ – whether and to what extent aggregates affect biodiversity in neighboring
harvested areas. We sampled plants, beetles, and spiders/harvestmen in the world’s three oldest
aggregated-retention sites (21–26 years old), matched with three recently harvested sites (5–8 years
old). For each taxonomic group, we compared species composition between undisturbed aggregates
and regenerating forests to assess the ‘lifeboating’ function of aggregates. For each group, we also
modeled changes in species composition, and in the numbers of aggregate- and regeneration-affiliated
species, with distance from the aggregate edge into the regenerating forest along transects at
north-facing edges. For all three taxa, species composition differed between aggregates and regenerating
forests in both older and recent sites, confirming the long-term effectiveness of aggregates for lifeboating.
The compositional difference between habitats was significantly greater at recent than at older sites for
plants, but not for invertebrates. Plants and spiders/harvestmen responded to forest influence, with a
marginal response for beetles. Responses for plants and spiders generally manifested as increased numbers
of aggregate-affiliated species and decreased numbers of regeneration-affiliated species in regenerating
areas closer to edges. Our results indicate that aggregated retention has short- and long-term
benefits for biodiversity reflecting both the lifeboating and forest-influence functions of aggregates.
However, variation in the responses of plants, beetles and spiders suggests that these benefits cannot
be generalized among taxa. We advocate broader application of aggregated retention in forests managed
for timber production and encourage managers to incorporate the benefits of forest influence in harvest
designs by arranging aggregates to reduce average distances from harvested areas to unlogged habitats.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | edge effects, forest influence, retention forestry, variable retention, plants, invertebrates |
Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
Research Group: | Environmental management |
Research Field: | Conservation and biodiversity |
Objective Division: | Plant Production and Plant Primary Products |
Objective Group: | Forestry |
Objective Field: | Native forests |
UTAS Author: | Baker, SC (Associate Professor Sue Baker) |
UTAS Author: | Wardlaw, TJ (Dr Timothy Wardlaw) |
UTAS Author: | Edgar, GJ (Professor Graham Edgar) |
UTAS Author: | Evans, SA (Dr Evans) |
UTAS Author: | Jordan, GJ (Professor Greg Jordan) |
UTAS Author: | Karpievitch, YV (Dr Yuliya Karpievitch) |
UTAS Author: | Thompson, RJ (Mr Ryan Thompson) |
ID Code: | 102271 |
Year Published: | 2015 |
Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (LP1010050) |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 44 |
Deposited By: | Plant Science |
Deposited On: | 2015-08-10 |
Last Modified: | 2019-03-12 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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