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On the structural and species diversity effects of bark beetle disturbance in forests during initial and advanced early-seral stages at different scales

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Abstract

Following disturbances, early-seral stages of forests provide a variety of structures. Whether this variety is a short-term phenomenon or influences forest succession for several decades or even longer is not known. We tested the hypotheses that after spruce dieback caused by bark beetles, a high spatial heterogeneity of stand structures will persist within stands and among stands even in advanced early-seral stages and that species taxonomical and functional diversity measures will reflect this heterogeneity. We used a chronosequence of unmanaged forests in the Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany) consisting of mature undisturbed spruce stands (control), stands belonging to an initial early-seral stage (~3 years after disturbance) and stands in an advanced early-seral stage (~20 years after disturbance). We analysed diversity and heterogeneity of these forest stands including stand structure, species density, species composition and functional–phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants, wood-inhabiting fungi and saproxylic beetles within plots, among plots of the same successional stage and among stages. Stands of the advanced early-seral stage were characterized by a high spatial heterogeneity of structural attributes, such as crown cover, regeneration density and spatial distribution of trees. Among-plot taxonomic beta diversity was highest in the advanced early-seral stage for beetles, but lowest for fungi, while beta diversity of plants among plots remained unchanged during succession. The mosaic of successional stages initiated by bark beetles increased the gamma diversity of the study area, especially for fungi and beetles. Our findings support the hypothesis that structural heterogeneity continues for at least two decades at stand and landscape scales and that species turnover among successional stages is a major mechanism for gamma diversity in forests after bark beetle disturbance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Fritz Eder for supporting vegetation mapping, Peter Karasch and Andreas Gminder for mapping wood-inhabiting fungi, Alexander Szallies for determining the sampled beetles to the species level, many forestry students who supported the inventory of stand and regeneration attributes in the field and Karen Brune for linguistic revision of the manuscript. We are grateful to Roland Baier and Christian Ammer who initiated the project ‘Forest dynamics following spruce bark beetle calamities in the National Park Berchtesgaden’ and gave valuable comments on a draft of this manuscript. The project was funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Public Health (StMUG). The work of M. Bernhardt-Römermann was partly supported by the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management (ANL). Finally, the helpful comments of the two anonymous referees on the manuscript are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg (FVA), Wonnhaldestraße 4, 79100, Freiburg, Germany

    Maria-Barbara Winter

  2. Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Maria-Barbara Winter

  3. Bavarian Forest National Park Administration, Freyunger Straße 2, 94481, Grafenau, Germany

    Claus Bässler & Jörg Müller

  4. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Dornburger Straße 159, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Markus Bernhardt-Römermann

  5. Plant Biodiversity Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Emil-Ramann Straße 2, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Franz-Sebastian Krah & Hanno Schaefer

  6. Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technische Universität München, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany

    Sebastian Seibold

  7. Field Station Fabrikschleichach, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstr. 5, 96181, Rauhenebrach, Germany

    Jörg Müller

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  1. Maria-Barbara Winter
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Winter, MB., Bässler, C., Bernhardt-Römermann, M. et al. On the structural and species diversity effects of bark beetle disturbance in forests during initial and advanced early-seral stages at different scales. Eur J Forest Res 136, 357–373 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-017-1037-4

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