Biodiversity Differences between Managed and Unmanaged Forests: Meta-Analysis of Species Richness in Europe |
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| Authors: | YOAN PAILLET LAURENT BERGÈS JOAKIM HJÄLTÉN PÉTER ÓDOR CATHERINE AVON MARKUS BERNHARDT-RÖMERMANN RIENK-JAN BIJLSMA LUC DE BRUYN MARC FUHR ULF GRANDIN ROBERT KANKA LARS LUNDIN SANDRA LUQUE TIBOR MAGURA SILVIA MATESANZ ILONA MÉSZÁROS M-TERESA SEBASTIÀ WOLFGANG SCHMIDT TIBOR STANDOVÁR BÉLA TÓTHMÉRÉSZ ANNELI UOTILA FERNANDO VALLADARES KAI VELLAK RISTO VIRTANEN |
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| Institution: | Cemagref, UR EFNO, Domaine des Barres, F-45290 Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France;Cemagref, UR EMGR, 2 rue de la Papeterie BP 76, F-38402 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France;Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden;Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Eötvös University, Pázmány P. stny. 1/C., H-1117 Budapest, Hungary;Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany;Alterra Wageningen UR, Centre for Ecosystem Studies, P.O. Box 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Kliniekstraat 25, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium;Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerpen, Belgium;Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Box 7050, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden;Institute of Landscape Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Stefanikova Street 3, SK-814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia;Hortobágy National Park Directorate, P.O. Box 216, H-4002 Debrecen, Hungary;Instituto de Recursos Naturales, CSIC IRN-CCMA-CSIC, Serrano 115, E-28006 Madrid, Spain;Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, P.O. Box 71, H-4010 Debrecen, Hungary;Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia, Pujada del Seminari s/n, E-25280 Solsona, Spain;Agronomical Engineering School, University of Lleida, Av. Rovira Roure 191, E-25198 Lleida, Spain;Ecological Institute, Debrecen University, P.O. Box 71, H-4010 Debrecen, Hungary;Faculty of Forestry, University of Joensuu, P.O. Box 111, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland;Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai Street, 40 Tartu EE-51005, Estonia;Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, FIN-90014 Oulu, Finland |
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| Abstract: | Abstract: Past and present pressures on forest resources have led to a drastic decrease in the surface area of unmanaged forests in Europe. Changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics inevitably lead to changes in the biodiversity of forest‐dwelling species. The possible biodiversity gains and losses due to forest management (i.e., anthropogenic pressures related to direct forest resource use), however, have never been assessed at a pan‐European scale. We used meta‐analysis to review 49 published papers containing 120 individual comparisons of species richness between unmanaged and managed forests throughout Europe. We explored the response of different taxonomic groups and the variability of their response with respect to time since abandonment and intensity of forest management. Species richness was slightly higher in unmanaged than in managed forests. Species dependent on forest cover continuity, deadwood, and large trees (bryophytes, lichens, fungi, saproxylic beetles) and carabids were negatively affected by forest management. In contrast, vascular plant species were favored. The response for birds was heterogeneous and probably depended more on factors such as landscape patterns. The global difference in species richness between unmanaged and managed forests increased with time since abandonment and indicated a gradual recovery of biodiversity. Clearcut forests in which the composition of tree species changed had the strongest effect on species richness, but the effects of different types of management on taxa could not be assessed in a robust way because of low numbers of replications in the management‐intensity classes. Our results show that some taxa are more affected by forestry than others, but there is a need for research into poorly studied species groups in Europe and in particular locations. Our meta‐analysis supports the need for a coordinated European research network to study and monitor the biodiversity of different taxa in managed and unmanaged forests. |
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| Keywords: | conservation policy forest management abandonment management intensity meta-analysis species richness taxonomic diversity |
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