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The list of forest affinities for animals in Central Europe – a valuable resource for ecological analysis and monitoring in forest animal communities?
Abstract
Since 2011 a list of the forest affinities of all forest species of vascular plants, bryophytes, and ferns known from Germany, is available. Recently, the first comparable lists of the forest affinities of animal species were published. These lists include a categorization of forest affinities for all species of Crassiclitellata: Lumbricidae (earth worms), Araneae (spiders), Opiliones (harvestmen), Pseudoscorpiones (pseudoscorpions), Hemiptera: Heteroptera (true bugs), Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera: Aculeata (ants, bees, wasps), Lepidoptera: Macrolepidoptera (butterflies, moths partly) and Aves (birds) known from Germany. The lists are a valuable resource that have the potential to add new layers of discovery to analyses of forest animal communities. Here we present a summary of the lists. We also re-analyze existing data sets in light of forest affinities to highlight possible applications of these lists in ecological assessments and characterizations of animal communities in central European forests. We show that the forest affinity lists can add valuable new insights for analyzing community structure, temporal community dynamics or communities across ecological gradients, represent an important tool for developing conservation strategies, and can be used to clear a dataset of chance findings of allochtonous specimens prior to analysis.
... Only species categorized as forest dwellers by Dorow et al. (2019) (categories: f, fc, fl, m, mm, mo (see Schneider et al. (2021) for an assignment of English and German abbreviations)) are included in the analyses. Species dwelling exclusively in open habitats (category: o) are considered as chance findings of transient specimens and therefore excluded from the analyses (Dorow et. ...
... Species dwelling exclusively in open habitats (category: o) are considered as chance findings of transient specimens and therefore excluded from the analyses (Dorow et. al. 2019, Schneider et al. 2021). ...
Under natural conditions beech forest would be the most widespread habitat in Central Europe. Therefore the knowledge of this vegetation type, including the animal communities dwelling there, as well as the mechanisms forming these communities are of high interest for biodiversity research and conservation in Central Europe. However, historically, Central European beech forests were thought to harbor only relatively few species. Here, faunistic data of five beech forest reserves, which were generated as part of the Hessian strict forest reserves program, are analyzed to investigate diversity patterns of Hessian beech forests of low mountain ranges. We focus on species-level data from six organism groups: Aculeata, Araneae, Coleoptera, Heteroptera, Lumbricidae, and Macrolepidoptera. We show that with 2552 forest-dwelling species from these organism groups an unexpectedly high number of species was found in Hessian beech forests, and that a higher species richness can be expected in these groups. Observed species diversity ranges from 1245 to 1556 forest dwelling species in the five individual forest reserves. Overall, 36 % of the forest dwelling species of the considered species groups known from Germany were found with all applied methods in the forest reserves. Different forest reserves share 40-50 % of the species, representing 50-70 % of the species of the individual reserves, indicating high levels of regional and habitat-structure based differentiation. Only 21 % of the species are found in all five reserves. The low percentage of species found in all five reserves is, in addition to differing local conditions, probably a result of the communities being composed of few highly abundant and many rare species, leading to a high percentage of species only found by chance in our surveys. We also observe differences in community heterogeneity among the five reserves. Patterns differ between organism groups, clearly indicating that a focus on single taxa or a single indicator group falls short of revealing meaningful patterns. In spider communities, beta diversity is linked to the spatial distance between traps. In other organism groups community heterogeneity within reserves rather depends on structural heterogeneity. Species richness was associated with percentage of reserve area not covered with the most dominant habitat type, the deadwood amount, and with survey year. Being the potential natural vegetation of Germany and considering the unexpectedly high diversity of their associated fauna, beech forests bear a great conservation value. However, their widespread occurrence and dominance is likely to push them out of focus of conservation efforts. Yet protecting diverse and richly structured beech forests can contribute greatly to preserving the native arthropod fauna and should play a central role in biodiversity conservation efforts in Central Europe.
... Pararge aegeria is usually considered a forest (edge) species with a widespread distribution across Europe (van Swaay et al. 2006;Schneider et al. 2021), but during the last decades, it has-at least in North-West Europe-successfully expanded its ecological niche and habitat use into more open, agricultural environments (e.g., Vandewoestijne and Van Dyck 2010). Butterflies of agricultural and forest ecotypes (i.e., landscapes with fragmented vs. connected resource distributions, respectively) have been shown to differ in the way they interact with their environment. ...
Local adaptation, early-developmental and behavioral plasticity have all been suggested to be underlying mechanisms of behav-ioral variation. They allow organisms to cope with resource heterogeneity in time and space. However, the relative contribution of each of these drivers on niche-expansion success is still unclear. We addressed this issue by studying oviposition behavior in a butterfly (Pararge aegeria) that used to be confined to forest, but recently colonized anthropogenic areas too. We caught females of either forest or agricultural ecotype and allowed their larval offspring to experience early-habitat cues in either open field or woodland conditions. For 110 females of this transplant experiment, we monitored all oviposition-related behaviors (i.e., site selection, searching, motivation, learning) using repeated trials in outdoor flight cages with naturally occurring host grasses. We observed changes in oviposition site preference, with increasing preference for semi-shaded host grass (by vegetation or vertical structures) over consecutive egg-lays. Motivation to oviposit was most affected by larval experience (in interaction with cage environment). We also show evidence for ecotypic differentiation with the agricultural ecotype showing reduced search effort during the first trial compared to the forest ecotype. We argue that females of agricultural landscapes with fragmented resource distributions adopt a more risk-aversive oviposition strategy. Our detailed behavioral tracking under ecologically relevant conditions, stresses the importance of considering different types of behavioral plasticity to unravel a species' success during niche expansion.
... The list was subsequently improved and supplemented with lists of forest-dwelling bryophyte and lichen species by Schmidt et al. (2011). More recently, a list of selected groups of forest animals has also been published for Germany, using a slightly modified approach (Dorow et al., 2019, see also Schneider et al., 2021). ...
Question
When evaluating forests in terms of their biodiversity, distinctiveness and naturalness, the affinity of the constituent species to forests is a crucial parameter. Here we ask to what extent are vascular plant species associated with forests, and does species’ affinity to forests vary between European regions?
Location
Temperate and boreal forest biome of Northwestern and Central Europe.
Methods
We compiled EuForPlant, a new extensive list of forest vascular plant species in 24 regions spread across 13 European countries using vegetation databases and expert knowledge. Species were region‐specifically classified into four categories reflecting the degree of their affinity to forest habitats: 1.1, species of forest interiors; 1.2, species of forest edges and forest openings; 2.1, species that can be found in forest as well as open vegetation; and 2.2, species that can be found partly in forest, but mainly in open vegetation. An additional “O” category was distinguished, covering species typical for non‐forest vegetation.
Results
EuForPlant comprises 1,726 species, including 1,437 herb‐layer species, 159 shrubs, 107 trees, 19 lianas and 4 epiphytic parasites. Across regions, generalist forest species (with 450 and 777 species classified as 2.1 and 2.2, respectively) significantly outnumbered specialist forest species (with 250 and 137 species classified as 1.1 and 1.2, respectively). Even though the degree of shifting between the categories of forest affinity among regions was relatively low (on average, 17.5%), about one‐third of the forest species (especially 1.2 and 2.2) swapped categories in at least one of the study regions.
Conclusions
The proposed list can be used widely in vegetation science and global change ecology related to forest biodiversity and community dynamics. Shifting of forest affinity among regions emphasizes the importance of a continental‐scale forest plant species list with regional specificity.
... We addressed the issue of oviposition site selection, microhabitat exploration and related experience-induced changes in the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. This is usually considered a forest (edge) species (Schneider et al. 2021), but in northwestern Europe its ecological niche has expanded from forest to anthropogenic environments over the last few decades (Vandewoestijne & Van Dyck, 2010). This expansion is assumed to explain its regional increase in distribution and abundance under rapid human-induced environmental change (Van Dyck et al. 2009). ...
Organisms that colonize new habitats may gain fitness advantages from changes in habitat selection
including oviposition behaviour. Variation in oviposition site selection may contribute to ecological
differentiation in response to novel ecological conditions. Both inherited and environmentally induced or
learned differences may contribute to variation in preoviposition search behaviour and oviposition site
selection. We addressed this issue with the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. Over recent decades,
this species has expanded its habitat use by colonizing anthropogenic environments with populations
that show differences in several phenotypic traits (i.e. ecotypes). Here we tested whether
preoviposition search behaviour and oviposition site selection differ between field-derived females from
forested and agricultural ecotypes, and whether prior experience would change their behaviour differently.
We used F1-offspring reared under common garden laboratory conditions and observed individuals
of both ecotypes repeatedly in an indoor experimental arena. The arena offered compartments
with host plants under simulated open and woody landscape conditions, as well as control compartments.
In contrast with predictions, ecotypic differences in preference were found not for a particular
microhabitat, but rather for oviposition site versus control compartment. Nevertheless, exploration and
microhabitat use differed between females of agricultural and forest ecotypes. Furthermore, we provide
evidence of short-term (i.e. a few hours after initial exposure) learning in the context of preoviposition
search behaviour, pointing at the often ignored role of habitat familiarization. Our study sheds new light
on behavioural changes that relate to habitat use in novel environments for a species that thrives successfully
in landscapes under rapid human-induced environmental change.
... Das Insektensterben macht auch vor dem Wald nicht halt: In Deutschland nahmen in Forstbeständen in drei untersuchten Regionen zwischen 2008 und 2017 die Artenzahl und die Biomasse an Arthropoden ab(Seibold et al. 2019). Wenn auch der größere Teil bedrohter Arten verschiedener Arthropodengruppen im Offenland zu finden ist, so gibt es unter den Rote-Liste-Arten auch an Wald gebundene Arten, für die die Forstwirtschaft eine besondere Verantwortung hat(Schneider et al. 2021). ...
The massive outbreaks of the Gypsy Moth in South
Hesse in 1993/94 revisited (Lymantria dispar, Lepidoptera:
Erebidae, Lymantriinae)
Abstract: In 1993 and 1994, massive outbreaks of the Gypsy
Moth in South Hesse forests were treated with Dimilin and
Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki on large areas by airplane or
helicopter. We surveyed the nocturnal Lepidoptera fauna
with light traps in oak stands (mainly Quercus robur) over
two years. There was a clear decrease of the counts of species
as well as individuals over the two years (year of poisoning
and following year) especially in the Dimilin area,
and especially for species living as caterpillars in canopies or
bushes. No such decrease was observed in small untreated
comparative stands within the treatmet areas in spite of full
defoliation. Similar results were found in surveys in Bavaria
and Baden-Wurttemberg by other observers. We describe
the present situation on basis of acute climate change,
strong general decrease of insect populations and oak forest
(the latter mainly caused by drought) and demand that any
poison treatment should only be done by respecting the
actual administrative regulations and never without a regular
long-term monitoring of the effects on non-target organisms
and efficiency of the measures.
... The Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria L.) is a frequently used species for the study of ecology and evolution in insects (Watt & Boggs, 2003). This woodland and woodland edge butterfly is widespread throughout Europe (Kudrna et al., 2011;Schneider et al., 2021) and in the majority of its range, it flies in two, or even more, generations a year depending on its flexible life cycle regulation (e.g. Wiklund & Friberg, 2011). ...
1. Butterflies rely on suitable weather conditions for thermoregulation during active behaviour. While non‐sunny conditions are known to reduce time spent in active flight, detailed behavioural data on how variable microclimatic conditions affect decision making in specific behavioural contexts (e.g. habitat exploration, dispersal, mating, basking, oviposition) is often lacking.
2. We addressed the influence of direct sunlight on females of the speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) that were motivated to oviposit. To test this, we observed gravid butterflies one by one in (1) a cage within a greenhouse, where temperature was kept high all the time, and (2) an outdoor cage under uncontrolled weather conditions.
3. Our results show that butterflies almost exclusively oviposit under direct sunlight. Surprisingly, results were similar in the warm within‐greenhouse cage, where activity remained high but oviposition never occurred during fully clouded conditions.
4. These results suggest that ovipositing butterflies require sunlight not only for thermoregulation. We hypothesise that direct sunlight benefits the ovipositing female by exposing more clearly the microclimatic variation of potential oviposition sites in the herbaceous layer of the vegetation. Heliophily during oviposition and pre‐oviposition exploration may apply to a range of microclimate‐sensitive species, particularly those living in microclimatically heterogeneous habitats. This warrants novel sensory ecological research, which will further improve our understanding of insect functional habitats.
Ancient forests are known to host a biodiversity of high ecological distinctiveness and are likely to provide habitat for red-listed species. Yet, few studies have investigated the role of forest continuity for the conservation of threatened species. We used species-presence data on red-listed species from 12 taxonomic groups (Spermatophyta, Pteridophyta, Bryophyta, Lichens, Chiroptera, Aves, Squamata, Amphibia, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata and Orthoptera) to ascertain if ancient forests are an important habitat for threatened species in five mountain and subalpine protected areas in France. We compared the effect of the amount of historical forest (1853–1860) with the effect of the amount of current forest on the distribution of red-listed species in six circular landscape buffers ranging in radius from 100 to 1500 m. We showed that the amount of historical forest in the landscape had a positive effect on forest Spermatophyta, Bryophyta, Coleoptera and edge forest Pteridophyta with a better predictive power than current forest area, highlighting a colonization credit in recent forests. Conversely, edge-forest lepidopterans were more negatively affected by historical than by current forest area, highlighting an extinction debt in recent forests. Our findings underline that implementing protective measures of ancient forests would be a better strategy than afforestation to preserve threatened forest species in mountain and subalpine forest landscapes.
Recent reports of local extinctions of arthropod species 1 , and of massive declines in arthropod biomass 2 , point to land-use intensification as a major driver of decreasing biodiversity. However, to our knowledge, there are no multisite time series of arthropod occurrences across gradients of land-use intensity with which to confirm causal relationships. Moreover, it remains unclear which land-use types and arthropod groups are affected, and whether the observed declines in biomass and diversity are linked to one another. Here we analyse data from more than 1 million individual arthropods (about 2,700 species), from standardized inventories taken between 2008 and 2017 at 150 grassland and 140 forest sites in 3 regions of Germany. Overall gamma diversity in grasslands and forests decreased over time, indicating loss of species across sites and regions. In annually sampled grasslands, biomass, abundance and number of species declined by 67%, 78% and 34%, respectively. The decline was consistent across trophic levels and mainly affected rare species; its magnitude was independent of local land-use intensity. However, sites embedded in landscapes with a higher cover of agricultural land showed a stronger temporal decline. In 30 forest sites with annual inventories, biomass and species number-but not abundance-decreased by 41% and 36%, respectively. This was supported by analyses of all forest sites sampled in three-year intervals. The decline affected rare and abundant species, and trends differed across trophic levels. Our results show that there are widespread declines in arthropod biomass, abundance and the number of species across trophic levels. Arthropod declines in forests demonstrate that loss is not restricted to open habitats. Our results suggest that major drivers of arthropod decline act at larger spatial scales, and are (at least for grasslands) associated with agriculture at the landscape level. This implies that policies need to address the landscape scale to mitigate the negative effects of land-use practices.
• The drastic insect decline has received increasing attention in scientific as well as in public media. Long‐term studies of insect diversity trends are still rare, even though such studies are highly important to assess extent, drivers and potential consequences of insect loss in ecosystems.
• To gain insights into carabid diversity trends of ancient and sustainably managed woodlands, we analysed data of carabid beetles from a trapping study that has been run for 24 years in an old nature reserve of Northern Germany, the Lüneburg Heath. We examined temporal changes in several diversity measures (e.g. biomass, species richness, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity) and tested diverse species traits as predictor variables for species occurrence.
• In contrast to recently published long‐term studies of insect diversity, we did not observe a decline in biomass, but in species richness and phylogenetic diversity in carabids at our study site. Additionally, hibernation stage predicted the occurrence probability of carabids: Species hibernating as imagines or both imagines and larvae and breeding in spring showed strongest declines.
• We assume the detected trends to be the result of external effects such as climate change and the application of pesticides in the surrounding. Our results suggest that the drivers for the insect decline and the responses are multifaceted. This highlights the importance of long‐term studies with identification of the catches to, at best, species level to support the understanding of mechanisms driving changes in insect diversity and abundance.
Severe decline in terrestrial insect species richness, abundance, flying biomass, and local extinctions across Europe are cause for alarm. Here, we summarize this decline, and identify species affected most. We then focus on the species that might respond best to mitigation measures relative to their traits. We review apparent drivers of decline, and critically reflect on strengths and weaknesses of existing studies, while emphasising their general significance. Generality of recent scientific findings on insect decline have shortcomings, as results have been based on irregular time series of insect inventories, and have been carried out on restricted species sets, or have been undertaken only in a particular geographical area. Agricultural intensification is the main driver of recent terrestrial insect decline, through habitat loss, reduced functional connectivity, overly intense management, nitrogen influx, and use of other fertilisers, as well as application of harmful pesticides. However, there are also supplementary and adversely synergistic factors especially climate change, increasingly intense urbanisation, and associated increase in traffic volume, artificial lighting and environmental pollution. Despite these various synergistic impacts, there are mitigating factors that can be implemented to stem the precipitous insect decline. Science can provide the fundamental information on potential synergistic and antagonistic mechanisms of multiple drivers of insect decline, while implementation research can help develop alternative approaches to agriculture and forestry to mitigate impacts on insects. We argue for more nature-friendly land-use practices to re-establish Europe’s insect diversity.
Die Fauna von Natur- und Wirtschaftswald
This volume is dedicated to the question of how strongly plant species are bound to forest habitats. The presented lists of forest species among the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens of Germany were derived with comparable methods and are delivered in a user-friendly form. The lists are supplemented by perspectives and suggestions of applications, but also by a discussion of limitations. Previous applications of lists of forest species are reviewed, and the contribution of statistical methods and vegetation databases is discussed.
The lists of forest species comprise a total of 1216 vascular plants, 674 bryophytes and 1002 lichens. Thus, they comprise 41 % of the vascular plant species of Germany, 58 % of the bryophytes and 52 % of the lichen taxa. Among the vascular forest plants there are 76 trees, 4 epiphytes, 116 shrubs and 1020 herbaceous plants. Changes introduced since the first edition are highlighted.
Particular care was taken to present the lists of forests species in an easily applicable format. Nomenclature follows the taxonomic reference for vegetation databases in Germany (GermanSL 1.2), and electronic lists are readily available for use via internet.
Comparability of classifications among vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens is warranted by application of the standards developed for vascular plants (partial lists for three subregions, definition of forest and linkage to forests), which allows comparative and joint analysis of the three groups.
The lists are valid for the Federal Republic of Germany with its three natural subregions northern lowlands, hillsides and low mountains and Alps. The forest definition of the first edition of the vascular plant list was maintained without taking account of the naturalness of forests, i. e. no distinction between natural forests and man-made plantations was made.
The lists class forest species into four groups within two major categories:
1 largely restricted to forest
1.1 largely restricted to closed forest
1.2 prefers forest edges and in clearings
2 occurrence in forest and open land
2.1 occurs in forests as well as in open land
2.2 may occur in forests, but prefers open land
The categories are further classified by letter prefixes. Vascular plants are differentiated into trees (B), shrubs (S), herbaceous plants (K) and epiphytes (E), bryophytes are denoted as M, lichens as F. Main category 1 comprises the taxa that are largely restricted to forests, main category 2 groups those that equally occur in forest and open lands.
The lists of bryophytes and lichens list the substrates on which the plant species regularly grow. This information refers to Germany without differentiation by subregions.
For the second edition of the list of vascular forest plants, suggestions that had been made since 2003 were subjected to discussion. The formerly uniform group of trees (B), which had also comprised lianas and epiphytes was differentiated according to their association with forests in the same manner as shrubs and herbaceous plants.
While presence in vegetation plot data and Ellenberg indicator values for light had allowed a preliminary classification of vascular plants, this method was only partly applicable for bryophytes and lichens, because cryptogams have often not been consistently included in the sampling of forest understorey, and because there are only negligible plot data for epiphytic and rock-dwelling species. This entails a stronger weight of expert judgements in these groups.
Preliminary data were submitted to experts for review. Experts submitted comments and suggestions concerning methodology and group definitions as well as re-classification of taxa. Incoming expert judgements were compiled and adapted into the revised lists. In the case of bryophytes and lichens workshops delivered final decisions. Problems remaining after the workshops were solved by individual searches (literature, querying of experts).
All native taxa, archaeophytes and neophytes present in the current standard lists for Germany were considered. Association with forest was usually judged at species level. Where useful and feasible, subspecies, varieties etc. were considered. Where the association was doubtful, the classification was done at the respective higher taxonomic level, which may result in classifications at the level of species groups or aggregates.
Beyond association with forests and substrates (cryptogams), supplementary information on Ellenberg indicator values (light, temperature, continentality, moisture, soil reaction and nutrients) was extracted from the GermanSL 1.2 reference list.
Global declines in insects have sparked wide interest among scientists, politicians, and the general public. Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and to jeopardize ecosystem services. Our understanding of the extent and underlying causes of this decline is based on the abundance of single species or taxo-nomic groups only, rather than changes in insect biomass which is more relevant for ecological functioning. Here, we used a standardized protocol to measure total insect biomass using Malaise traps, deployed over 27 years in 63 nature protection areas in Germany (96 unique location-year combinations) to infer on the status and trend of local entomofauna. Our analysis estimates a seasonal decline of 76%, and midsummer decline of 82% in flying insect biomass over the 27 years of study. We show that this decline is apparent regardless of habitat type, while changes in weather, land use, and habitat characteristics cannot explain this overall decline. This yet unrecognized loss of insect biomass must be taken into account in evaluating declines in abundance of species depending on insects as a food source, and ecosystem functioning in the European landscape.
Im Jahr 1998 wurde in Deutschland das Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz (BBodSchG) erlassen, welches das Ziel verfolgt, die Bodenfunktionen nachhaltig zu sichern. Bisher fand das Gesetz bezüglich der Bodenorganismen wenig praktische Anwendung, was sicher auch in der mangelnden Kenntnis der Lebensraumansprüche und der Gefährdung von Bodentieren begründet ist. Die vorliegende Liste soll einen Beitrag zur Kenntnis einer der wichtigsten Bodentiergruppen leisten und gleichzeitig einen Anstoß für weitere ökologische Untersuchungen geben.
Die Bewertung der Biodiversität von Wäldern ist untrennbar verbunden mit der Frage nach der Waldbindung der vorkommenden Arten. Waldnaturschutz zielt nicht auf eine Maximierung von Artenzahlen per se, sondern auf die Erhaltung und Forderung von typischen Waldbewohnern. Die Frage, welche Arten für den Wald typisch sind, muss bis auf weiteres im Rahmen eines Expertenkonsenses beantwortet werden. Für die Farn- und Blütenpflanzen (Phanerogamen) konnte nach breit angelegter Datenauswertung und Expertendiskussion erstmals 2003 eine bundesweit gültige Waldartenliste veröffentlicht werden, die sich inzwischen breiter Anwendung erfreut. Bei der Analyse von vegetationskundlichen oder floristischen Daten mithilfe der Waldgefäßpflanzenliste konnte bisher die Waldbindung von Moosen und Flechten aufgrund des Fehlens von für diese Gruppen vergleichbaren bundesweiten Listen nicht einbezogen werden. Für die in Deutschland vorkommenden Kryptogamen existierten bis vor kurzem nur wenige, auf bestimmte Artengruppen beschränkte Angaben zur Waldbindung. Daher wurde 2008 mit der Erarbeitung einer nach einheitlichen Methoden erstellten Waldartenliste der Moose und Flechten Deutschlands begonnen und diese gemeinsam mit einer aktualisierten Waldgefäßpflanzenliste im Jahr 2011 veröffentlicht (Schmidt et al. 2011). Diese Listen und insbesondere ihre Anwendungsperspektiven werden hier vorgestellt.
Strict Forest Reserve Kinzigaue, Zoological Research 1999-2001, Part 2
A program for faunistic research in natural forest reserves is suggested. It contains nine taxa of animals selected by eight ecological and technical criterions. The taxa and the sampling methods necessary for them are introduced and described. Moreover suggestions are made for the evalution of the results. Text and index of literature enclose the most important literature of determination for the selected groups of animals.
Ein Programm für zoologische Natunvaldforschung wird vorgeschlagen. Es enthält neun waldtypische Tiergruppen, die nach acht ökologischen und technischen Kriterien ausgewählt wurden. Die Tiergruppen und die für sie erforderlichen Sammelmethoden werden vorgestellt und beschrieben. Darüber hinaus werden Vorschläge zur Auswertung der Untersuchungsergebnisse gemacht. Text und Literaturverzeichnis (121 Titel) enthalten die wichtigste Bestimmungsliteratur für die ausgewählten Tiergruppen.
The results of pitfall trapping over a whole year, in a transect from inner parts of the forest across the edge to the surrounding land, are presented for Araneae, Opiliones, Pseudoscorpiones and Carabidae. Different distribution patterns are shown for these groups and the species. Spiders have been found with the highest numbers (species and individuals) and with all the different distribution patterns. The most abundant species at the forest border, Lepthyphantes nitidus (Araneae, Linyphiidae), is active in the winter.
Natur und Landschaft 68 (7/8) (1993): 386-394.
Summary: Forest margins in "semi-natural condition" are composed of linear, woody and herbaceous structures and plant communities. They play an important role in the conservation of species and habitats. In many areas of our cultivated landscape, they are completely absent; in others their structure is fragmentary. Because of this, a project was started to establish forest fringe communities with their typical species composition and highly diverse structures. The selected area is situated in northem Bavaria. The experiment is organised by the "Landschaftspflegeverband Mittelfranken", a landscape management organisation, and is a joint project between this institution, land owners, the Direction of Rural Development, municipal and forest administrations and scientists.
On 12 different forestmargin sites, ground was provided along a 60 meter wide buffer zone to establish forest fringes diverse in structure. Two woody species compositions were planted: Light-demanding trees in contact with production forests are expected to develop in time into a "tree forest fringe". They will be in contact with an adjacent "shrub forest fringe". Further towards the open fjeld, herbaceous communities are allowed to develop, sheltered by a buffer strip. Inside the forested part, deciduous trees were favoured by the cuttlng of conifers and planting. Scientific research and permanent plotting allow the monitoring of species immigrations and successions in these new structures.
Zusammenfassung: Naturnahe Waldränder, die für den Arten- und Biotopschutz von größter Bedeutung sind, fehlen in unserer Kulturlandschaft fast völlig oder smd nur noch fragmentarisch ausgebildet. Der Landschaftspflegeverband Mittelfranken erprobt in einem Modellprojekt den Aufbau naturnaher, reichgegliederter Waldränder. In enger Zusammenarbeit mit den betreffenden Kommunen, den Grundstückseigentümern, der Direktion für Ländliche Entwicklung, den Forstämtern, den Landwirten sowie den beteiligten Wissenschaftlern wird das Vorhaben in die Praxis umgesetzt. An 12 verschiedenen Standorten erfolgt der stufige Aufbau naturnaher Waldränder vom Forstbestand über einen mit Laubholz unterpflanzten Trauf, einen Baum-und Strauchmantel, ei-nen Krautsaum und eine Pufferzone bis zur angrenzenden landwirtschaftlichen Nutzfläche auf einer Breite von ca. 60 Metern. Wissenschaftliche Begleituntersuchungen dokumentieren den Verlauf der Entwicklung sowie die Besiedlungsdynamik in den neugeschaffenen Strukturen.
Large-scale studies investigating impacts of agricultural practices on biodiversity showed that farmland bird population sizes are negatively related to national agricultural intensification indices in Europe. Here, it was tested whether the nesting strategy of farmland species predicted their abundance variations along a gradient of agricultural production intensity. Ground-nesters, which are strongly declining all over Europe, were expected to be impacted more directly by production intensity than hedge-nesters which would be instead impacted by hedge loss. To test this prediction, previously unavailable fine-scale agricultural data were used over an entire country representing highly diverse farmlands. We modelled the local abundance of 43 farmland bird species, using data from the French breeding bird survey, along an index of agricultural production intensity based on standardized crop yields and herbivore stocking rates, controlling the analysis for local climate and farmed habitat type.68% of ground-nesters had lower relative abundance in more productive farmlands, whereas only 17% of hedge-nesters did. Nesting strategy explained an important part of bird species responses to spatial variation in agricultural production intensity. Our results suggest that although hedge loss and production intensification were parts of the strong agricultural intensification in Europe, these two phenomena are impacting different bird species.
The research was carried out in the years 1991-1994 in agricultural landscape of medium mosaic degree in the area of Łęczyca. It covered parasitoids of the Pimplinae subfamily (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), inhabiting refugium habitats such as shrubber- ies, field borders, roadsides and forest edges. The method used was scooping in order to catch imagos. 48 species were found, which made up 36.1% of this subfamily's domestic fauna and 63.1% of those reported for Wielkopolska. Dominant species were Endro- mopoda detrita (Holmgr.) (D = 19.5%), Itoplectis maculator (F.) (D = 11.5%), I. alter- nans (Grav.) (D = 11.3%), Pimpla contemplator (Muell.) (D = 9.2%) and Zaglyptus multicolor (Grav.) (D = 7.1%). The greatest species diversity was reported from the forest edge (34 species), while the highest number was found in the shrubberies (268 individu- als). The greatest stability of species composition was found in the shrubbery communi- ties. The greatest species similarity between communities was reported for the shrubberies and the forest edge (SM = 53.5%). The highest similarity in terms of quantity occurred between the groups on the field border and road edge (Re = 64.5%).
The main objective of the European Union (EU) funded project AQEM1was to develop a framework of an assessment system for streams in Europe based on benthic macroinvertebrates that fulfils the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive. Initial assessment methods for 28 European stream types and more generally applicable tools for stream biomonitoring in Europe were generated.
The development of the system was based on a newly collected data set covering stream types in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Altogether, 901 benthic invertebrate samples were taken using a standardised multi-habitat sampling procedure and a large number of parameters describing the streams and their catchments was recorded for all sampling sites. From the stream and catchment characteristics measures of stress were derived. A large number of metrics was tested independently for each of the stream types, to identify the response of each metric to degradation of a site. This process resulted in up to 18 core metrics for the individual stream types, which were combined into a different multimetric index in each country. The multimetric AQEM assessment system is used to classify a stream stretch into an Ecological Quality Class ranging from 5 (high quality) to 1 (bad quality) and often provides information on the possible causes of degradation.
AQEM provides a taxa list of 9557 European macroinvertebrate taxa with associated autecological information, a software package for performing all the calculations necessary for applying the multimetric AQEM assessment system and a manual describing all aspects of the application of the system from site selection to data interpretation.
The Rothamsted Insect Survey has operated a Great Britain-wide network of light-traps since 1968. From these data we estimated the first ever national abundance indices and 35-year population trends for 338 species of common macro-moths. Although the number of trap sites which run each year is not constant, there is a representative, well-distributed core of traps that have run for 15years. The proportion of operating sites catching a species and the annual geometric mean catch of successful traps were used to provide estimates of species range and absolute abundance. T, an index of long-term population trends, was used to compare trends among species. T was not biased by trap site turnover. The percentage of species displaying significant decreases (54%) was more than double that displaying increases (22%). Species found throughout Great Britain are decreasing most rapidly in the south and especially the southeast but species with a southerly distribution are increasing. Results of a preliminary overview suggest habitat and climate change may both play a role in changing species dynamics. The existence of estimates of abundances and trends for such a large species pool opens the way for much further research, linking trends with land-use changes, climate change and inter-specific dynamics.
During the last 50 years, agricultural intensification has caused many wild plant and animal species to go extinct regionally or nationally and has profoundly changed the functioning of agro-ecosystems. Agricultural intensification has many components, such as loss of landscape elements, enlarged farm and field sizes and larger inputs of fertilizer and pesticides. However, very little is known about the relative contribution of these variables to the large-scale negative effects on biodiversity. In this study, we disentangled the impacts of various components of agricultural intensification on species diversity of wild plants, carabids and ground-nesting farmland birds and on the biological control of aphids.
The changes in population size of carabid beetles inhabiting an ancient woodland were analysed in a long-term investigation covering a period of nine years (1994–2002). The amplitude of fluctuations of the relative density of these species was estimated and compared with those of carabid beetles inhabiting recent woodlands and more unstable habitats in open landscapes. To analyse this, 8 pitfall traps were set in an ancient beech and oak woodland in the nature reserve “Lüneburger Heide” in northern Germany and were emptied every fortnight the whole year round.Catching rates for some species (e.g. Carabus problematicus and Abax parallelepipedus) fluctuated only slightly, whereas those of other species (e.g. C. violaceus and C. auronitens) varied as much as ten-fold. Comparison of these results with those of other long-term investigations of recent woodlands and also of more open habitats showed that in each of the three habitat types some species varied very little in abundance and others, very widely. So it seems that the amplitude of fluctuations in abundance is a feature of each single species rather than a special attribute of their habitats.
Agricultural dynamics and associated changes in the structure of habitat patches affect species composition and distribution in the landscape. Land-use, landscape changes and vegetation changes of weeds were analysed in a 4 km2 area in Central Germany (Saxony-Anhalt) from 1953 to 2000. This period includes the collectivisation (1952–1968), the agricultural industrialisation (1969–1989) and the privatisation of agricultural land following the political changes in East Germany in 1990. For the analyses, historic and current aerial photographs and vegetation data were used. Landscape indices and the average amount of mineral fertilizers were used as indicators for landscape structure and land-use intensity. Intensification of agriculture and the collectivisation in East Germany in the fifties and sixties led to a decline of the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape matrix (arable fields). The average number and cover of weed species, especially archaeophytes, decreased significantly since 1957. However, the total number of weed species increased. There was a remarkably high number of species with an average cover below 0.05%, called “chance” species in 2000. Out of 17 tested landscape indices only mean patch size and mean patch fractal dimension were significantly correlated with the average number of weed species. The average amount of the mineral fertilizer potash used as land-use intensity indicator was significantly negatively correlated with the total number of weed species. However, there was an increase in the number of farms after 1990 without changes in landscape structure and arable weed vegetation. The results suggest that structural variability of the landscape and habitat quality are the principal correlates of plant species diversity.
Development of farming practices has caused drastic changes in European agricultural landscapes during the past 50 years. As a consequence of these changes, insect diversity is widely expected to decline. We performed a comparative analysis with long-term data of three insect groups: Auchenorrhyncha, Heteroptera and Orthoptera. In 2009, we revisited nine grassland sites in northern Germany that were originally sampled in 1951 using the same techniques and during a similar time frame. We found that the insect community exhibited no consistent trends between years. Species richness of Auchenorrhyncha and Heteroptera increased on plot level as well as on landscape level but remained unchanged for Orthoptera. Abundance of Auchenorrhyncha and Orthoptera significantly decreased, while Heteroptera increased. There is a strong trend towards homogeneity in community composition for Heteroptera and a weak one for Auchenorrhyncha. The frequency and abundance of species preferring disturbed and/or eutrophic habitats increased, whereas the number of species preferring low-productive habitats declined. This trend is especially pronounced in Auchenorrhyncha. Generalistic species were more abundant in relative proportions as well as in absolute numbers. We hypothesize that these trends arise from alterations of Central European landscapes because of agricultural intensification over the last several decades.
Aim To determine whether arthropod richness and abundance for combined taxa, feeding guilds and broad taxonomic groups respond in a globally consistent manner to a range of agricultural land-use and management intensification scenarios.
Location Mixed land-use agricultural landscapes, globally.
Methods We performed a series of meta-analyses using arthropod richness and abundance data derived from the published literature. Richness and abundance were compared among land uses that commonly occur in agricultural landscapes and that represent a gradient of increasing intensification. These included land-use comparisons, such as wooded native vegetation compared with improved pasture, and a management comparison, reduced-input cropping compared with conventional cropping. Data were analysed using three different meta-analytical techniques, including a simple vote counting method and a formal fixed-effects/random-effects meta-analysis.
Results Arthropod richness was significantly higher in areas of less intensive land use. The decline in arthropod richness was greater between native vegetation and agricultural land uses than among different agricultural land uses. These patterns were evident for all taxa combined, predators and decomposers, but not herbivorous taxa. Overall, arthropod abundance was greater in native vegetation than in agricultural lands and under reduced-input cropping compared with conventional cropping. Again, this trend was largely mirrored by predators and decomposers, but not herbivores.
Main conclusions The greater arthropod richness found in native vegetation relative to agricultural land types indicates that in production landscapes still containing considerable native vegetation, retention of that vegetation may well be the most effective method of conserving arthropod biodiversity. Conversely, in highly intensified agricultural landscapes with little remaining native vegetation, the employment of reduced-input crop management and the provision of relatively low-intensity agricultural land uses, such as pasture, may prove effective in maintaining arthropod diversity, and potentially in promoting functionally important groups such as predators and decomposers.
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Large carabid beetle declines in a United Kingdom monitoring network increases evidence for a widespread loss of insect biodiversity
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