Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Selection harvest in temperate deciduous forests: impact on herb layer richness and composition

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Herb layer richness and composition of four forest types and three different management treatments were investigated in 16 deciduous forest stands of northern Germany. Specifically, we compared the species richness and composition occurring in mature forest stands that were single-tree and group selection harvested to those in unmanaged reference stands. Mean species richness of all herb layer species increased significantly with increasing harvest severity. When analyzing plant groups separately, it became obvious that this overall pattern was not consistent. While a negative relationship was detected between vernal herb richness and harvest severity, group selection harvest significantly increased species richness of summer herbaceous forest species and generalists. Woody species richness was not related to harvest severity. Community composition of the spring aspect was not significantly affected by selection harvest, whereas herb layer species composition in the summer aspect differed significantly among the three harvest treatments. A dominance of highly competitive shrub and generalist species was confined to some parts of the most intensively harvested stands. Overall, our results indicate that the herb layer community was not severely adversely affected by selection harvest at the intensities used in the studied stands. It is suggested that selection harvest systems may be feasible tools with which to conserve local forest vascular plant diversity and at the same time to meet the demand for timber products. However, information about forest history and the implementation of the selection harvest system are basic requirements when interpreting the results of studies on understorey response to selection harvest.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atlegrim O, Sjöberg K (2004) Selective felling as a potential tool for maintaining biodiversity in managed forests. Biodivers Conserv 13:1123–1133. doi:10.1023/B:BIOC.0000018148.84640.fd

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aude E, Lawesson JE (1998) Vegetation in Danish beech forests: the importance of soil, microclimate and management factors, evaluated by variation partitioning. Plant Ecol 134:53–65. doi:10.1023/A:1009720206762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson J, Nilsson SG, Franc A, Menozzi P (2000) Biodiversity, disturbances, ecosystem function and management of European forests. For Ecol Manage 132:39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunet J, von Oheimb G (1998) Migration of vascular plants to secondary woodlands in southern Sweden. J Ecol 86:429–438. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00269.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunet J, Falkengren-Grerup U, Tyler G (1996) Herb layer vegetation of south Swedish beech and oak forests—effects of management and soil acidity during one decade. For Ecol Manage 88:259–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins BS, Dunne KP, Pickett STA (1985) Responses of forest herbs to canopy gaps. In: Pickett STA, White PS (eds) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199:1302–1310. doi:10.1126/science.199.4335.1302

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Costa F, Magnusson W (2002) Selective logging effects on abundance, diversity, and composition of tropical understorey herbs. Ecol Appl 12:807–819. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0807:SLEOAD]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Decocq G, Hermy M (2003) Are there herbaceous dryads in temperate deciduous forests? Acta Bot Gall 150:373–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Decocq G, Aubert M, Dupont F, Alard D, Saguez R, Wattez-Franger A et al (2004) Plant diversity in a managed temperate deciduous forest: understorey response to two silvicultural systems. J Appl Ecol 41:1065–1079. doi:10.1111/j.0021-8901.2004.00960.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Decocq G, Aubert M, Dupont F, Bardat J, Wattez-Franger A, Saguez R et al (2005) Silviculture-driven vegetation change in a European temperate deciduous forest. Ann For Sci 62:313–323. doi:10.1051/forest:2005026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drößler L, von Lüpke B (2005) Canopy gaps in two virgin beech forest reserves in Slovakia. J For Sci 51:446–457

    Google Scholar 

  • Dufrêne M, Legendre P (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 61:53–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliott KJ, Knoepp JD (2005) The effects of three regeneration harvest methods on plant diversity and soil characteristics in the southern Appalachians. For Ecol Manage 211:296–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredericksen TS, Ross BD, Hoffman W, Morrison ML, Beyea J, Johnson BN, Lester MB, Ross E (1999) Short-term understorey plant community responses to timber-harvesting intensity on non-industrial private forestlands in Pennsylvania. For Ecol Manage 116:129–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam FS, Roberts MR (eds) (2003) The herbaceous layer in forests of eastern North America. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Godefroid S, Koedam N (2004) Interspecific variation in soil compaction sensitivity among forest floor species. Biol Conserv 119:207–217. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2003.11.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godefroid S, Rucquoij S, Koedam N (2005) To what extent do forest herbs recover after clearcutting in beech forest? For Ecol Manage 210:39–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graae BJ, Heskjær VS (1997) A comparison of understorey vegetation between untouched and managed deciduous forest in Denmark. For Ecol Manage 96:111–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haeussler S, Bedford L, Leduc A, Bergeron Y, Kranabetter JM (2002) Silvicultural disturbance severity and plant communities of the southern Canadian boreal forest. Silva Fenn 36:307–327

    Google Scholar 

  • Härdtle W, von Oheimb G, Westphal C (2003) The effects of light and soil conditions on the species richness of the ground vegetation of deciduous forests in northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). For Ecol Manage 182:327–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Härdtle W, von Oheimb G, Westphal C (2005) Relationships between the vegetation and soil conditions in beech and beech-oak forests of northern Germany. Plant Ecol 177:113–124. doi:10.1007/s11258-005-2187-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hermy M, Honnay O, Firbank L, Grashof-Bokdam CJ, Lawesson JE (1999) An ecological comparison between ancient and other forest plant species of Europe, and the implications for forest conservation. Biol Conserv 91:9–22. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00045-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensch D (2004) Der Einfluss von Störungen auf Waldbodenvegetation. Experimente in drei hessischen Buchenwäldern. Diss Bot 386:1–388

    Google Scholar 

  • Kern CC, Palik BJ, Strong TF (2006) Ground-layer plant community responses to even-age and uneven-age silvicultural treatments in Wisconsin northern hardwood forests. For Ecol Manage 230:162–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Kubota Y, Katsuda K, Kikuzawa K (2005) Secondary succession and effects of clear-logging on diversity in the subtropical forests on Okinawa Island, southern Japan. Biodivers Conserv 14:879–901. doi:10.1007/s10531-004-0657-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer P, Abs C, Fischer A (2004) Colonisation by vascular plants after soil disturbance in the Bavarian Forest—key factors and relevance for forest dynamics. For Ecol Manage 188:279–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCune B, Mefford MJ (1999) PC-ORD. Multivariate analysis of ecological data, version 4.25. MjM Software, Gleneden Beach, OR

    Google Scholar 

  • MCPFE (Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe) (2007) State of Europe’s forests 2007. The MCPFE report on sustainable forest management in Europe. Liaison Unit Warsaw, Warsaw

  • Meier AJ, Bratton SP, Duffy DC (1995) Possible ecological mechanisms for loss of vernal-herb diversity in logged eastern deciduous forests. Ecol Appl 5:935–946. doi:10.2307/2269344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell RJ, Palik BJ, Hunter ML (2002) Natural disturbance as a guide to silviculture. For Ecol Manage 155:315–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T (2001) Species coexistence in temperate mixed deciduous forests. Trends Ecol Evol 16:205–210. doi:10.1016/S0169-5347(01)02117-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nyland RD (2002) Silviculture: concepts and applications. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, White PS (1985) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Academic, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MR (2004) Response of the herbaceous layer to natural disturbance in North American forests. Can J Bot 82:1273–1283. doi:10.1139/b04-091

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MR, Gilliam FS (2003) Response of the herbaceous layer to disturbance in eastern North America. In: Gilliam FS, Roberts MR (eds) The herbaceous layer in forests of eastern North America. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MR, Zhu L (2002) Early response of the herbaceous layer to harvesting in a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest in New Brunswick, Canada. For Ecol Manage 155:17–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig ML (1995) Species diversity in space and time. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharenbroch BC, Bockheim JG (2007) Impacts of forest gaps on soil properties and processes in old growth northern hardwood-hemlock forests. Plant Soil 294:219–233. doi:10.1007/s11104-007-9248-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlichting E, Blume HP, Stahr K (1995) Bodenkundliches Praktikum. Blackwell, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt M, Ewald J, Fischer A, von Oheimb G, Kriebitzsch WU, Ellenberg H, Schmidt W (2003) Liste der in Deutschland typischen Waldgefäßpflanzen. Mitt Bundesforschungsanstalt Forst- Holzwirtschaft 212:1–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith GF, Gittings T, Wilson M, French L, Oxbrough A, O’Donoghue S et al (2008) Identifying practical indicators of biodiversity for stand-level management of plantation forests. Biodivers Conserv 17:991–1015. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9274-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiollay JM (2002) Forest ecosystems: threats, sustainable use and biodiversity conservation. Biodivers Conserv 11:943–946. doi:10.1023/A:1015843602023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SC, Halpern CB, Falk DA, Liguori DA, Austin KA (1999) Plant diversity in managed forests: understorey responses to thinning and fertilization. Ecol Appl 9:864–879. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(1999)009[0864:PDIMFU]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Maarel E (1979) Transformation of cover-abundance values in phytosociology and its effect on community similarity. Vegetatio 39:97–114. doi:10.1007/BF00052021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verheyen K, Honnay O, Motzkin G, Hermy M, Foster DR (2003) Response of forest plant species to land-use change: a life-history trait-based approach. J Ecol 91:563–577. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.2003.00789.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Oheimb G, Westphal C, Tempel H, Härdtle W (2005) Structural pattern of a near-natural beech forest (Fagus sylvatica) (Serrahn, North-east Germany). For Ecol Manage 212:253–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Oheimb G, Friedel A, Bertsch A, Härdtle W (2007) The effects of windthrow on plant species richness in a Central European beech forest. Plant Ecol 191:47–65. doi:10.1007/s11258-006-9213-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wisskirchen R, Haeupler H (1998) Standardliste der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands. Ulmer, Stuttgart

    Google Scholar 

  • Zenner EK, Kabrick JM, Jensen RG, Peck JE, Grabner JK (2006) Responses of ground flora to a gradient of harvest intensity in the Missouri Ozarks. For Ecol Manage 222:326–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zerbe S, Schmidt I, Betzin J (2007) Indicators for plant species richness in pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in Germany. Biodivers Conserv 16:3301–3316. doi:10.1007/s10531-006-9111-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Environmental Chemistry, University of Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335, Luneburg, Germany

    Goddert von Oheimb & Werner Härdtle

Authors
  1. Goddert von Oheimb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Werner Härdtle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Goddert von Oheimb.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

von Oheimb, G., Härdtle, W. Selection harvest in temperate deciduous forests: impact on herb layer richness and composition. Biodivers Conserv 18, 271–287 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9475-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9475-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation