Abstract

Forest management regimes dictate the composition and structure of large parts of the Fennoscandian boreal forest region. The understanding of thinning impacts on understorey plant communities is considerably lower compared to the effects of final felling. We studied the response of bryophyte assemblages to second commercial thinning in spruce-dominated stands sampled to be representative of the dominant forest type of south-central Sweden. Eighteen stands were analysed 6-12 years after second commercial thinning, and were compared with six stands commercially thinned only once, at two spatial scales (0.1 and 0.01ha), with stand ages varying between 52 and 66 years. We found few strong differences in bryophyte species richness and no differences in bryophyte species composition between stands thinned once or twice. More pioneer species were found in stands thinned only once, a result that needs further study. Species richness declined significantly with time since thinning on both investigated spatial scales. Canopy cover significantly affected the composition of forest floor species. Thinning effects over longer time periods need further study, and also effects in different forest types along productivity gradients. For nature conservation, studies targeted towards thinning response of uncommon species connected to specific habitats and substrates will be essential.

Keywords

Boreal; bryophytes; liverwort; moss; Sweden; thinning

Published in

Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research
2016, Volume: 31, number: 1, pages: 19-28
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS

SLU Authors

• Gustafsson, Lena

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology
Forest Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02827581.2015.1054872

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/78314