Search results for "Secondary forest"

Continuous cover forestry is a cost-efficient tool to increase multifunctionality of boreal production forests in Fennoscandia

2017

Abstract Earlier research has suggested that the diversification of silvicultural strategies is a cost-efficient tool to ensure multifunctionality in production forests. This study compared the effects of continuous cover forestry and conventional rotation forestry on ecosystem services and biodiversity in boreal forests in Finland. We simulated over 25,000 commercial forest stands for 100 years under continuous cover and rotation forest management. Forests without management were used as a reference. We compared the effects of silvicultural practices over space and time on ecosystem services, biodiversity indicators and multifunctionality. Our results revealed that continuous cover forestr…

Forest Fragmentation and Selective Logging Have Inconsistent Effects on Multiple Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Processes in a Tropical Forest

2011

Forest fragmentation and selective logging are two main drivers of global environmental change and modify biodiversity and environmental conditions in many tropical forests. The consequences of these changes for the functioning of tropical forest ecosystems have rarely been explored in a comprehensive approach. In a Kenyan rainforest, we studied six animal-mediated ecosystem processes and recorded species richness and community composition of all animal taxa involved in these processes. We used linear models and a formal meta-analysis to test whether forest fragmentation and selective logging affected ecosystem processes and biodiversity and used structural equation models to disentangle di…

Disturbance-grazer-vegetation interactions maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands

2017

Low-intensity livestock grazing is a widespread management tool in order to maintain habitat diversity in mountain pasture-woodlands for nature conservation purposes. Historical photographs indicate that forest disturbance significantly contributed to forest-grassland mosaic pattern formation. Disturbance grazer interactions are however poorly understood and the effects of logging or windthrow are rarely considered in management plans. Moreover, disturbance-grazer interactions are crucial for the maintenance of open habitats in the upcoming "rewilding" approach of nature conservation. We aimed to understand the effects of forest gap creation by the breakdown of senile trees or by single-tre…

Rehabilitating boreal forest structure and species composition in Finland through logging, dead wood creation and fire: The EVO experiment

2007

This paper reviews an ongoing, large-scale multidisciplinary experiment designed to study the possibilities of rehabilitating forest structure and species composition through logging, dead wood creation and fire in managed Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests in southern Finland. These forests have been utilized for several centuries with intensive management and clear-cut harvesting, which has been the dominant practice in Finland since World War II. During this era, the forest structure has become relatively even-aged, and the amount of dead wood has been reduced considerably. Simultaneously, due to an effective fire suppression policy, the role of fire in Finnish nature has been almost co…

Occupation of wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix nests by Myrmica and Lasius ants

2018

Bird nests can provide habitats for various invertebrates, including ectoparasites, scavengers, and predators. Records of ants associating with active bird nests mostly involve the insects searching for food, with some exceptional records of ants raising their broods (eggs, larvae or pupae) within songbird nests in nest-boxes or tree cavities. We present data for a previously undocumented, but apparently regular, occurrence of ants and their broods within the active nests of a songbird, the wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Bechstein, 1793), which builds domed nests on the ground in European forests. Systematic recording found ants, mostly Myrmica ruginodis Nylander, 1846, in 43% of 80 …

Corrigendum to “Conservation value of forest plantations for bird communities in western Kenya” [Forest Ecol. Manag. 255 (2008) 3885–3892]

2009

A re-analysis of the bird data revealed a mistake within the database query. Only bird individuals that were heard were integrated in the results leading to lower total richness and number of individuals. In total 115 species and 13,331 individuals were detected of which 41 were forest specialists (43% of all individuals), 40 forest generalists (41%) and 34 forest visitors (16%). The statistical analyses remain very similar. We recorded significant differences in mean bird species richness, number of individuals and relative species richness among the five forest types (Table 1). Multiple pairwise comparisons showed significantly higher numbers of species in natural forest, mixed indigenous…

2015

In order to minimize risks of pathogen transmission with the development of ecotourism in Gabon, a seasonal inventory has been performed in five contrasted biotopes in Ivindo (INP) and Moukalaba-Doudou (MDNP) National Parks. A total of 10,033 hematophagous flies were captured. The Glossinidae, with six different species identified, was the most abundant group and constitutes about 60% of the captured flies compared to the Stomoxys (6 species also identified) and Tabanidae with 28% and 12%, respectively. The Glossinidae showed a higher rate of capture in primary forest and in research camps. In INP, the Stomoxys showed a higher rate of capture in secondary forest and at village borders, wher…

Specialization and interaction strength in a tropical plant–frugivore network differ among forest strata

2011

The degree of interdependence and potential for shared coevolutionary history of frugivorous animals and fleshy-fruited plants are contentious topics. Recently, network analyses revealed that mutualistic relationships between fleshy-fruited plants and frugivores are mostly built upon generalized associations. However, little is known about the determinants of network structure, especially from tropical forests where plants' dependence on animal seed dispersal is particularly high. Here, we present an in-depth analysis of specialization and interaction strength in a plant-frugivore network from a Kenyan rain forest. We recorded fruit removal from 33 plant species in different forest strata (…

BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene

2018

Abstract Motivation The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Main types of variables included The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, th…

Effects of Canopy Gap Disturbance on Forest Birds in Boreal Forests

2013

We studied the effects of small-scale disturbance on breeding, forest passerine birds in an old-growth and managed boreal forests in northern Finland. Small-scale disturbance (< 2 ha) in an old-growth and managed forests originated from wind falls and small clear cuts. Continuous forest without gaps was used as a control for both management types (old-growth and managed forests). Passerines' response to disturbance was examined by estimating species richness and abundance of different ecological groups. Species richness and the total abundance of birds did not differ between gap and non-gap plots, neither did the abundance of most ecological groups. Management type or study year were the mo…