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Research article2018Peer reviewed

Stump extraction in the surrounding landscape: Predatory saproxylic beetles are more negatively affected than lower trophic levels

Ranlund, Asa; Victorsson, Jonas

Abstract

To harvest more biofuel from forests, tree stumps are sometimes extracted after clearcutting. Species in different organism groups rely on deadwood, and biofuel extraction reduces their substrate. Our aim was to investigate the potential landscape effects of stump extraction, and compare the effects among trophic levels of deadwood dependent (saproxylic) beetles. We sampled saproxylic beetle species in clearcut stumps using bark sieving. We did the study in 2013 in 49 clearcuts (1-4 years old) in three regions in central Sweden where stump extraction had been performed for six years prior to sampling. We selected landscape buffers with 500m, 1000m, and 2000 m radius with different intensities of stump extraction (0-100%). We show for the first time, based on empirical data, that increasing stump extraction can affect deadwood-dependent species at the landscape level. On average, obligate predators were more negatively affected than cambivores and facultative predators. The 34 studied saproxylic beetle species showed varied responses to stump extraction in the surrounding landscape, including stable (no response), negative, or positive responses. Positive responses could be due to a crowding effect, indicating a time-lagged response to habitat loss. Since stump extraction in the study area started just six years prior to sampling, time-lags in population-level responses could be expected. The age of the sampled clearcuts influenced the abundance of eleven species, but other local factors had little effect on abundance.Our results suggest that if stump extraction is widely introduced, deadwood retention planned for both spatial and temporal continuity should be an integrated part of intensified forest management. We suggest monitoring the long-term effects of stump extraction.

Keywords

Bayesian hierarchical models; Deadwood; Habitat loss; Landscape; Forestry intensification; Saproxylic beetles; Stump extraction

Published in

Forest Ecology and Management
2018, Volume: 408, pages: 75-86

      SLU Authors

      • UKÄ Subject classification

      Ecology
      Zoology

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.030

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/92653