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Post-fire selective thinning of Arbutus unedo L. coppices keeps animal diversity unchanged: the case of ants

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Abstract

Context

In the Mediterranean area, different post-fire management strategies are used for coppices of resprouting species to promote a more regular forest structure, enhance plant growth, and reduce fire risk. However, the effects of these management treatments on forest-associated fauna are unknown, which in turn could be limiting their beneficial effects.

Aims

The aim of this work was to determine whether forest management of a recently burned area dominated by a vigorous resprouting tree species (Arbutus unedo L.) affects ant communities.

Methods

Ant communities, sampled using pitfall traps, were examined from unmanaged and selective thinning coppices of A. unedo. Ants are here used as bioindicators of ecosystem health and surrogates for other animal groups.

Results

Very limited effects of these post-fire management strategies on the structure and composition of ant communities were found. The lack of effects could be due to the reported small changes in physical conditions among treatments; or either, the most sensitive ant species to these post-fire management treatments might be the same ones affected by fire and, consequently, the ant species that would potentially be affected most were no longer in the study area.

Conclusion

The lack of any significant effects caused by these post-fire management practices on the associated fauna of A. unedo coppices points out the suitability of these treatments in these circumstances.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Alba Lázaro and Mariona Ferrandiz for field and laboratory assistance.

Funding

This study has been funded by the Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación” project Consolider-Ingenio Montes, CSD2008-00040 to AR.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CREAF, Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalunya, Spain

    Lídia Quevedo, Xavier Arnan & Anselm Rodrigo

  2. Faculty of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Xavier Arnan

  3. Natural History Museum of Barcelona, Psg. Picasso s/n, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

    Olga Boet

  4. Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Catalunya, Spain

    Anselm Rodrigo

Authors
  1. Lídia Quevedo
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  2. Xavier Arnan
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  3. Olga Boet
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  4. Anselm Rodrigo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lídia Quevedo.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Eric Rigolot

Contribution of the co-authors

Xavier Arnan: designing the experiment, supervising the field and laboratory work, and running the data analysis.

Olga Boet: supervising the laboratory work.

Anselm Rodrigo: designing the experiment, running the data analysis, and writing the paper.

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Quevedo, L., Arnan, X., Boet, O. et al. Post-fire selective thinning of Arbutus unedo L. coppices keeps animal diversity unchanged: the case of ants. Annals of Forest Science 71, 897–905 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-014-0381-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-014-0381-5

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