The Warra Silvicultural Systems Trial (SST) in Tasmania, Australia provides a framework for investigating the responses of beetles (Order: Coleoptera) to three alternative systems in lowland wet eucalypt forest: aggregated retention; dispersed retention; and understorey islands retained in clearfelled areas. Beetles from three families known to be sensitive to forest management, the families Carabidae (groundbeetles), Curculionidae (weevils) and Leiodidae (fungus-beetles), were collected with pitfall traps prior to harvest, and in the first and third years post-harvest. The retained aggregates in the aggregated retention system maintained beetle assemblages reasonably typical of mature forests, at least in these early years following harvesting. These aggregates appear to provide a stable habitat, with similar species composition in the first and third years post-harvest. In contrast, the harvested areas of the aggregated retention system contained low numbers of beetle species affiliated with mature forest, as did the understorey islands and the dispersed retention system. Relative to clearfelling, all alternative silvicultural systems appeared to be of some benefit to beetles affiliated with mature forest, but aggregated retention retained far greater numbers of these beetles compared to the other systems in Tasmanian wet eucalypt forest.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Forestry sciences
Research Field:	Forestry management and environment
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Terrestrial systems and management
Objective Field:	Terrestrial biodiversity
UTAS Author:	Baker, SC (Associate Professor Sue Baker)
ID Code:	72307
Year Published:	2009
Web of Science® Times Cited:	29
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2011-08-25
Last Modified:	2012-03-06
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