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Bryophytes and their microhabitats in coniferous forest pastures: should they be considered in the pasture management?

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Abstract

Forest pastures, like many other semi-natural (traditional) rural biotopes, have undergone a drastic decline both in area and quality during the last century in many areas. We explored the bryophyte flora of Finnish coniferous forest pastures on acidic soil and aimed to recognize the most important microsites (rocks, coarse woody debris, tree bases, mineral soil patches and closed vegetation) for bryophyte diversity. The effects of microhabitat heterogeneity (microsite entropy) on bryophytes was also examined. We found altogether 83 bryophyte species. The only red-listed species, Tayloria tenuis, was frequently found on dung patches and a few rare ruderal species grew exclusively on bare mineral soil. Rocks comprised the most species rich microsite and many common forest floor species showed preference for this microsite. Microhabitat heterogeneity explained bryophyte species richness on both alpha (plot average) and gamma (pasture total) scales. The results suggest that certain individual bryophyte species and their microsites should be taken into account in the management of this biotope, rather than guiding the management solely on the basis of the overall bryophyte diversity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Jenny and Antti Wihuri foundation for financial support to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Forestry, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus, Yliopistokatu 7, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Tuomo Takala & Teemu Tahvanainen

  2. Faculty of Science and Forestry, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Jari Kouki

Authors
  1. Tuomo Takala
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  2. Jari Kouki
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  3. Teemu Tahvanainen
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Correspondence to Tuomo Takala.

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Communicated by T.G. Allan Green.

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Takala, T., Kouki, J. & Tahvanainen, T. Bryophytes and their microhabitats in coniferous forest pastures: should they be considered in the pasture management?. Biodivers Conserv 23, 3127–3142 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0769-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0769-4

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