Early impacts of disturbance on lichens, mosses and liverworts in Tasmania’s wet eucalypt production forests

Abstract

The impacts of silvicultural disturbance (felling and burning) on lichens, mosses and liverworts in Eucalyptus obliqua-dominated wet forest in Tasmania were investigated. The study was based on presence-absence data for 452 taxa from 52 sampling events, spanning unlogged forest and disturbed, regenerating forest about 1, 3 and 5 years after disturbance. Three aspects of species composition were compared: total species richness, occurrence of pre-disturbance species in the post-disturbance flora and relative richness of ecological groups in the flora. Total species richness was the least reliable measure for evaluating changes due to disturbance.Felling and burning in different combinations were represented in a range of silvicultural treatments applied in the study area. They produced different levels of disturbance and different microhabitats, and thereby defined the character of the cryptogamic flora. The most severe impacts occurred at burnt sites, regardless of whether the forest had been felled or not, and the least impact was found in standing, unburnt forest.The consequences of severe disturbance were a substantial change in species composition, with a reduction, in particular, of mature wet forest species in favour of species associated with disturbance or brightly lit, exposed environments. In the lichens, the loss of old tree indicators, old forest indicators, foliicolous species, rare species of conservation significance and species indicative of a succession towards cool temperate rainforest was especially severe. Mosses and liverworts also showed a very pronounced loss of mature wet forest species. In the mosses, the presence of newcomers, represented mostly by disturbance species or species typical of open drier conditions, masked the extent of these losses. In the liverworts, there were few newcomers and the composition of the post-disturbance flora was much depleted.

Four new Micarea species from the montane cloud forests of Taita Hills, Kenya

“…In Tasmania, however, Micarea species were found to be sensitive to ecological change, such as logging, silvicultural treatments and fire. Interestingly, the Tasmanian examples vividly demonstrate how species in this genus are adapted to a wide range of ecological niches: almost all the species of Micarea from unlogged forest were replaced by other Micarea species that proliferated in just 3–5 years after the logging (Jarman & Kantvilas 2001 a , b ; Kantvilas & Jarman 2006; Kantvilas et al 2015).…”

Rapid legacy‐dependent succession of lichen assemblages after forest fires: Insights from two boreal regions

“…This accords with results of two previous studies. Re-colonization and increase of lichen assemblage richness in Lithuanian Pinus sylvestris stands started 3 years after surface fire (Motiejūnaitė et al, 2014), and in Tasmanian wet sclerophyll forests within 5-6 years (Kantvilas, Jarman, & Minchin, 2015). The primary colonizers in the Lithuanian sites were neutrophilous species or species tolerant of a wide range of bark pH; in Tasmania pioneers and transient colonizers dominated and a strong reduction of mature wet forest species was observed (therefore the succession was not directed directly toward the original pre-disturbance assemblage).…”

Studies onMicareain Australasia II. A synopsis of the genus in Tasmania, with the description of ten new species

“…A study of lichens in wet eucalypt-dominated forests (Jarman & Kantvilas 2001 a , b ), and the recovery of species following logging and regeneration under different silvicultural treatments (Kantvilas & Jarman 2006; Kantvilas et al 2015), offered an informative case study of Micarea ecology. These forests proved to be particularly rich in Micarea , with a total of 18 species recorded in the course of a 13-year study (Kantvilas & Jarman 2012).…”