Influence of environmental parameters on small-scale distribution of soil-dwelling spiders in forests: What makes the difference, tree species or microhabitat?

Ziesche, Tim; Roth, Mechthild

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.09.060

Cited by 124 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Pitfall traps were used to collect spiders and Carabid beetles, a widely used method to sample ground-dwelling invertebrates in forested habitats (Oxbrough et al, 2005;Mullen et al, 2008;Yu et al, 2008;Ziesche and Roth, 2008). Although an efficient method, it should be noted that pitfall captures are dependent on a species' density and activity and thus are not a measure of absolute 30 abundance.…”

Section: Invertebrate Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both taxa are influenced by changes in habitat structure, which can provide hiding places for active hunters, protection from predators, greater prey availability and a more stable microclimate (Thiele, 1977;Uetz, 1991). Such change across the forest cycle is well-documented for these taxa in temperate forests of planted and natural origin (Oxbrough et al, 2005;Buddle et al, 2006;Mullen et al, 2008;Ziesche and Roth, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In the last decade, a relatively large body of work has explored invertebrate ecology in secondary forests which are either naturally regenerating or plantation (Barbaro et al, 2005;Buddle et 15 al., 2006;Yu et al, 2008;Ziesche and Roth, 2008). These studies are typically conducted in stands surrounded by large areas of mature forest or at least a mosaic of different structural stages (Siira-Pietikainen et al, 2003;Schowalter et al, 2005;Siira-Pietikäinen and Haimi, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These litter layers were comprised of needles rather than leaves, but as the dominant forest cover in Ireland was historically deciduous broadleaved trees (Mitchell, 1995), these forest spiders may not be adapted to exploiting such litter layers. Overall, there were relatively few significant relationships between spiders associated with forested habitats and the environmental parameters suggesting 10 that other factors may influence the assemblages, from small scale parameters such as humidity and temperature (Ziesche and Roth, 2008) to those acting at the larger scales including the shape and distribution of forest cover in the landscape (Barbaro et al, 2005). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can mixed species stands enhance arthropod diversity in plantation forests?

Oxbrough

French

Irwin

et al. 2012

Forest Ecology and Management

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Plantation forests are an important part of the forest estate in many countries. In Ireland, they cover around 9% of the land area and many that are commercially mature are now being felled 15 and reforested. The potential biodiversity value of such second rotation forests has yet to be determined, yet this may be particularly significant in Ireland where cover of semi-natural woodland is only 1%. Invertebrates are a vital component of forest biodiversity, functioning as decomposers and pollinators, to herbivores, predators and prey. Spiders and Carabid beetles are often used in biodiversity assessment as they are easily captured using pitfall traps, are 20 taxonomically well known and respond to changes in habitat structure. This study aimed to examine spider and Carabid beetle diversity in second rotation Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) plantations at different stages of the forest cycle (5 yrs, 8-12 yrs, 20-30yrs, 35-50yrs), and compare the spiders captured in second rotation forests with those from first rotation. Spider and beetle diversity was influenced by stand structural development in second rotation plantations 25 with numbers of forest-associated species increasing over the forest cycle. Overall, spider richness declined over the forest cycle and this was related to decreasing cover of field layer vegetation and fewer open-associated species. In contrast, total beetle richness increased and became more specialised over the forest cycle which may be related to slower colonisation of Such measures may provide refuge for forest species after clearfell. In countries where forest fragments exist in a landscape dominated by agriculture, consideration should be given to the 5 capacity of mature forest adjacent to felled stands to support forest species, and to the configuration of over-mature areas retained after felling.

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Section: Invertebrate Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can mixed species stands enhance arthropod diversity in plantation forests?

Oxbrough

French

Irwin

et al. 2012

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…IAP clearing can result in unexpected changes to ecosystem processes that may affect arthropod survival. For example, removal of IAPs alters canopy characteristics, which directly affects the interior environments of ecosystems (i.e., temperature, humidity, and radiation), this, in turn, leads to changes in arthropod richness and abundance (Ziesche and Roth 2008). Apart from microclimate, altered architectural habitat complexity (Schowalter and Crossley 1988) and changes in plant nutritional quality (Fischer et al 2010), IAP removal may also influence arthropod communities by limiting their dispersal ability by creating isolated patches (Schowalter and Crossley 1988).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of invaded Cape Floristic Region riparian systems leads to a recovery in foliage-active arthropod alpha- and beta-diversity

et al. 2016

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AcknowledgmentsThanks to Marno Fourie and Oliver Kambaj for field assistance and reviewers for helpful suggestions to improve this manuscript. We thank private landowners and CapeNature for access to field sites (permit number: AAA008-00027-0028). This study was funded by the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. AbstractThe Cape Floristic Region of South Africa is a global biodiversity hotspot threatened by invasive alien plants (IAPs). We assessed the effect of plant invasions, and their subsequent clearing, on riparian arthropod diversity. Foliage-active arthropod communities were collected from two native and one invasive alien tree species. Alpha-and beta-diversity of their associated arthropod communities were compared between near pristine, Acacia-invaded and restored sites. Arthropod alpha-diversity at near pristine sites was higher than at restored sites, and was lowest at invaded sites. This was true for most arthropod taxonomic groups associated with all native tree species and suggests a general trend towards recovery in arthropod alpha-diversity after IAP removal. Overall, arthropod species turnover among sites was significantly influenced by plant invasions with communities at near pristine sites having higher turnover than those at restored and invaded sites. This pattern was not evident at the level of individual tree species. Although arthropod community composition was significantly 1 influenced by plant invasions, only a few significant differences in arthropod community composition could be detected between restored and near pristine sites for all tree species and arthropod taxonomic groups. Assemblage composition on each tree species generally differed between sites with similar degrees of plant invasion indicating a strong turnover of arthropod communities across the landscape. Results further suggest that both arthropod alpha-and beta-diversity can recover after IAP removal, given sufficient time, but catchment signatures must be acknowledged when monitoring restoration recovery.

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Ten‐year responses of ground‐dwelling spiders to retention harvest in the boreal forest

Pinzón

Spence

Langor

et al. 2016

Ecological Applications

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The Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbances (EMEND) project tests the hypothesis that varying levels of green tree retention maintain and retain forest biodiversity better than conventional clear-cutting. We studied epigaeic spiders to assess biodiversity changes 2, 5, and 10 yr following a range of partial retention harvests (clear-cut, 10-75% retention) and unharvested controls in four boreal mixedwood cover types. A total of 56 371 adult spiders representing 220 species was collected using pitfall traps. Lasting effects on forest structure were proportional to harvest intensity. These changes strongly influenced spider richness, abundance, and species composition, as well as assemblage recovery. Distinctive assemblages were associated with disturbance level, especially with partial harvests (≤50% retention), and these were dominated by open-habitat species even 10 yr after harvest. Assemblages were more similar to those of controls in the highest (75%) retention treatment, but significant recovery toward the structure of pre-disturbance assemblages was not detected for any prescription in any cover type. Although early responses to retention harvest suggested positive effects on spider assemblages, these are better explained as lag effects after harvest because assemblages were less similar to those of unharvested controls 5 yr post-harvest, and only minor recovery was observed 10 yr following harvest. Retention of forest biodiversity decreased over time, especially in conifer stands and the lower (10-50%) retention treatments. Overall, retention harvests retained biodiversity and promoted landscape heterogeneity somewhat better than clear-cutting; however, there was a clear gradient of response and no retention "threshold" for conservation can be recommended on the basis of our data. Furthermore, results suggest that retention harvest prescriptions should be adjusted for cover type. We show that low retention ameliorated impacts in broadleaved forests characteristic of earlier stages in mixedwood succession, but only higher retention was associated with less impact in successionally older conifer forests. Although these short-term responses (10 yr) of spider assemblages support use of retention harvests, understanding the true conservation merit of these practices, relative to conventional approaches, requires evaluation over longer time scales, with work more focused on recovery of biodiversity than on its preservation after harvest.

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Influence of environmental parameters on small-scale distribution of soil-dwelling spiders in forests: What makes the difference, tree species or microhabitat?

Cited by 124 publications

References 65 publications

Can mixed species stands enhance arthropod diversity in plantation forests?

Can mixed species stands enhance arthropod diversity in plantation forests?

Restoration of invaded Cape Floristic Region riparian systems leads to a recovery in foliage-active arthropod alpha- and beta-diversity

Ten‐year responses of ground‐dwelling spiders to retention harvest in the boreal forest

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