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Changing management in Scottish birch woodlands: a potential threat to local invertebrate biodiversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

B.A. Woodcock ,
S.R. Leather  and
A.D. Watt
B.A. Woodcock*
Affiliation:
Centre for Agri-Environment Research, University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 237, Reading, RG6 6AR, UK
S.R. Leather
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
A.D. Watt
Affiliation:
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Hill of Brathens, Banchory, Aberdeenshire, AB31 4BW, UK
*
*Fax: +44 (0)1189 352421 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The silvicultural management of Scottish birch woodlands for timber production is replacing traditional low intensity management practices, such as domesticated livestock grazing. These new management practices involve thinning of existing woodlands to prescribed densities to maximize biomass and timber quality. Although presently infrequent, the wide scale adoption of this practice could affect invertebrate community diversity. The impact of these changes in management on Staphylinidae and Carabidae (Coleoptera) in 19 woodlands in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland was investigated. Grazing and logging practices were important determinants of beetle community structure. Woodland area had no effect on any measure of beetle community structure, although isolation did influence the abundance of one carabid species. Changes towards timber production forestry will influence the structure of invertebrate communities, although the scale at which this occurs will determine its effect.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 93 , Issue 2 , April 2003 , pp. 159 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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