Arthropod diversity in pure oak forests of coppice origin in northern Thrace (Turkey)

Abstract

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionTurkey is one of the world's richest countries in terms of the variety of oak species and their extent. Oak forests cover vast areas in Northern Thrace (European Part of Turkey): 656 004 ha, or 27.7% of the entire land area, of which oak forests make up 71.7% of forest lands (Makineci et al. 2011). In the past, most oak forests were managed as coppice via clear cuttings on 20-year rotations. However, the intensive use of the forest led to its long-term degradation. Therefore, Turkish General Directorate of Forestry abandoned such practice in the last decade, and now promotes conversion to high forest and natural regeneration from seeds.Arthropods are often used as ecological indicators of ecosystem integrity (King et al. 1998, Tscharntke et al. 1998, Rainio & Niemelä 2003, Langor & Spence 2006, Maleque et al. 2009). They play essential roles in ecosystems such as pollination, seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, and they serve as predators of pests and prey for valued vertebrates (Engelmann 1961, van Straalen 1998. Arthropods also have short generation times and respond quickly to ecological changes (Work et al. 2002). Habitat structure influences arthropod diversity and abundance (Spitzer et al. 2008). In general, systems that are more diverse, permanent, isolated and managed with low intensity are associated with high arthropod community diversity (Akbulut et al. 2003). Increasing plant diversity has been suggested as a means of increasing insect diversity (Symstad et al. 2000) and thus lowering insect herbivore damage through decreased host plant density, increased interspecific competition among pest and non-pest species and improved natural enemy communities (Stamps & Linit 1998).Arthropod species richness generally increases with stand age , Bolger et al. 2000, and richness and density of herbivorous insects are influenced by forest age (Jeffries et al. 2006). However, there is limited knowledge about arthropod diversity during the conversion of coppices to high oak forests and the early stages of succession of coppice oak forests in Turkey. In the present study, we hypothesized that arthropod richness, abundance and diversity at coppice oak sites increased with stand age. The objectives of our study were to: (1) identify differences in forest characteristics among forest stand types; (2) characterize differences in arthropod richness, diversity, and abundance among forest stand types, and (3) relate invertebrate taxa to method of capture and to forest stand characteristics. Materials and methods Study sitesThis study was carried out in pure oak stands growing at five different sites (Catalca, Demirkoy, Igneada, Kirklareli and Vize) in the Northern Thrace, Turkey (Fig. 1). Sites were coppice-originated forests, but currently are being converted to high forest. Climate (precipitation, temperature and wa-© SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ 615 iForest 8: 615-623

Bird composition and diversity in oak stands under variable coppice management in Northwestern Turkey

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