Functional diversity response to hardwood forest management varies across taxa and spatial scales
-
Published source details
Murray B.D., Holland J.D., Summerville K.S., Dunning J.B., Saunders M.R. & Jenkins M.A. (2017) Functional diversity response to hardwood forest management varies across taxa and spatial scales. Ecological Applications, 27, 1064-1081.
Published source details Murray B.D., Holland J.D., Summerville K.S., Dunning J.B., Saunders M.R. & Jenkins M.A. (2017) Functional diversity response to hardwood forest management varies across taxa and spatial scales. Ecological Applications, 27, 1064-1081.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
| Action | Category | |
|---|---|---|
|
Harvest groups of trees or use thinning instead of clearcutting Action Link |
 |
|
|
Use shelterwood harvesting instead of clearcutting Action Link |
|
-
Harvest groups of trees or use thinning instead of clearcutting
A controlled, before-and-after study in 2007–2014 in two hardwood forest blocks in Indiana, USA (Murray et al. 2017) found that thinned areas had more macro-moth species than patch-cut or clearcut areas, and a similar number to unharvested areas. One–six years after management, the species richness of macro-moths in thinned areas (40–68 species/site) was higher than in patch-cut (30–52 species/site) or clearcut (34–54 species/site) areas, and was similar to shelterwood harvested (53–75 species/site) and unharvested areas (56–84 species/site). Before harvesting, all areas had similar species richness (thinned: 84; patch-cut: 99; clearcut: 96; shelterwood: 95; unharvested: 90 species/site). However, after management, the total species richness in the thinned and patch-cut block was 122–162 species, compared to 144–190 species in the shelterwood and clearcut block, whereas before management richness was similar (thinned/patch-cut: 203; shelterwood/clearcut: 198 species; statistical significance not assessed). Two ~100 ha regenerated forest blocks were managed in autumn 2008. In one “uneven-aged” block, two 2.0-ha, two 1.2-ha and four 0.4-ha areas were patch-cut, and the remaining area was thinned by single-tree selection. In one “even-aged” block, two 4.1-ha areas were clearcut, two 4.1-ha areas were shelterwood harvested (midstory and understory cleared), and the remaining area was not harvested. From May–August 2007 and 2009–2014, macro-moths were sampled on five nights/year (once/fortnight) using 12 W black-light traps. Traps were placed in the centre of 16 patches: four patch-cut and four thinned sites within the uneven-age block, and two clearcut, three shelterwood and three unharvested sites within the even-age block. Species represented by fewer than three individuals were excluded.
(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
-
Use shelterwood harvesting instead of clearcutting
A controlled, before-and-after study in 2007–2014 in two hardwood forest blocks in Indiana, USA (Murray et al. 2017) found that shelterwood harvested areas had more macro-moth species than clearcut areas, and a similar number to unharvested forest. One–six years after management, the species richness of macro-moths in shelterwood harvested areas (53–75 species/site) was higher than in clearcut (34–54 species/site) or patch-cut (30–52 species/site) areas, and was similar to thinned (40–68 species/site) or unharvested areas (56–84 species/site). Before harvesting, all areas had similar species richness (shelterwood: 95; clearcut: 96; patch-cut: 99; thinned: 84; unharvested: 90 species/site). After management, the total species richness in the shelterwood and clearcut block was 144–190 species, compared to 122–162 species in the thinned and patch-cut block, whereas before management richness was similar (shelterwood/clearcut: 198; thinned/patch-cut: 203 species; statistical significance not assessed). Two ~100 ha regenerated forest blocks were managed in autumn 2008. In one “even-aged” block, two 4.1-ha areas were shelterwood harvested (non-oak midstory and understory cleared), two 4.1-ha areas were clearcut, and the remaining area was not harvested. In one “uneven-aged” block, two 2.0-ha, two 1.2-ha and four 0.4-ha areas were patch-cut, and the remaining area was thinned by single-tree selection. One block was left unharvested. From May–August 2007 and 2009–2014, macro-moths were sampled on five nights/year (once/fortnight) using 12 W black-light traps. Traps were placed in the centre of 16 patches: three shelterwood, two clearcut and three unharvested sites within the even-age block; four patch-cut and four thinned sites within the uneven-age block. Species represented by fewer than three individuals were excluded.
(Summarised by: Andrew Bladon)
