Effects of Postfire Salvage Logging on Deadwood‐Associated Beetles |
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Authors: | T P COBB J L MORISSETTE J M JACOBS M J KOIVULA J R SPENCE D W LANGOR |
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Institution: | 1. Invertebrate Zoology, Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton T5N 0M6, Alberta, Canada, email. tyler.cobb@gov.ab.ca;2. Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E9, Alberta, Canada;3. Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2E3, Alberta, Canada;4. Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton T6H 3S5, Alberta, Canada |
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Abstract: | Abstract: In Canada and the United States pressure to recoup financial costs of wildfire by harvesting burned timber is increasing, despite insufficient understanding of the ecological consequences of postfire salvage logging. We compared the species richness and composition of deadwood‐associated beetle assemblages among undisturbed, recently burned, logged, and salvage‐logged, boreal, mixed‐wood stands. Species richness was lowest in salvage‐logged stands, largely due to a negative effect of harvesting on the occurrence of wood‐ and bark‐boring species. In comparison with undisturbed stands, the combination of wildfire and logging in salvage‐logged stands had a greater effect on species composition than either disturbance alone. Strong differences in species composition among stand treatments were linked to differences in quantity and quality (e.g., decay stage) of coarse woody debris. We found that the effects of wildfire and logging on deadwood‐associated beetles were synergistic, such that the effects of postfire salvage logging could not be predicted reliably on the basis of data on either disturbance alone. Thus, increases in salvage logging of burned forests may have serious negative consequences for deadwood‐associated beetles and their ecological functions in early postfire successional forests. |
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Keywords: | biological diversity coarse woody debris Coleoptera saproxylic insects deadwood forest fire forest management Coleoptera diversidad bioló gica incendio forestal insectos saproxí licos madera muerta manejo forestal restos leñ osos gruesos |
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