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Centipede diversity in patches of different development phases in an unevenly-aged beech forest stand in Slovenia

2003; Pensoft Publishers; Volume: 44; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2305-2562

Tanja Grgič, Ivan Kos,

Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

The issue investigated was whether a distinction can be made between centipede communities from different development phases of an unevenly-aged beech forest stand. The influence of stand structure on centipede diversity, resulting from a particular forest management practice, was evaluated. Soil samples were taken three times during 2000 from a beech stand with patches of different development phases near Ljubljana in Slovenia. Using the quadrat counts method, soil samples were taken with a sampling corer from adjoining selected patches in understorey re-initiation (gap-patch), juvenile, pole and timber phases of a forest. The characteristics of centipede communities and the similarities between them were then estimated by use of statistical methods (Jackknife estimate of species richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou's index of evenness, index of dominance, Renkonen index). The collection comprised 2075 centipedes representing 36 species. In a single patch, 24-28 species were found. Average centipede density was between 109 and 892 individuals per square metre. None of the common species was found exclusively in one development phase. The responses to forest development phases differed among species. Some species were considerably more abundant in older forest development phases, but most species did not show preference for a certain development phase. Differences between patches lay mostly in the distribution and abundance of species. Some samples from different patches are more similar than seasonal samples taken from the same patch. It was discovered that the centipede community structure in patches of an unevenly aged stand does not only depend on a forest development phase. The inference was made that centipedes migrate between patches with different environmental conditions. Such an unevenly-aged stand can offer favourable conditions for more centipede species, so it was predicted that both alpha diversity and density are higher than they would be in an evenly-aged stand in the same area. Since small-scale heterogeneity within a forest stand enhances local species richness and supports viable populations of specialised species, maintenance of this heterogeneity should be the key focus in management operations within a forest stand.