Speaker
Description
Production forests are typically managed to optimize timber production, resulting in even-aged stands with few canopy gaps and little deadwood until the final harvest. This biotic homogenization can reduce biodiversity, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystem functioning and human well-being. To explore strategies that promote biodiversity while maintaining timber production, the BETA-FOR Research Unit investigates the effects of experimentally enhanced structural β-complexity, such as variation in canopy gaps and deadwood, on forest biodiversity. In eight forests across Germany, canopy gaps and various types of deadwood were introduced on 156 plots (each 50 × 50 m). Soils harbor a wide range of organisms, including nematodes, the most abundant metazoans on Earth. Nematodes contribute to numerous ecosystem functions and are widely used as bioindicators. We examine how increased structural β-complexity affects nematode diversity across local (alpha), site-level (gamma), and between-site (beta) scales, considering both taxonomic and functional aspects and using Hill-Chao diversity indices. Results indicate that the functional diversity of nematodes is more broadly affected than taxonomic diversity. For both taxonomic and functional diversity, beta diversity of common and frequent taxa increases in sites where structural complexity was increased. Notably, alpha and gamma diversity of functional traits decrease simultaneously among nematodes. This counterintuitive pattern suggests that, although forest patches become more functionally and taxonomically distinct from one another, they also lose widely shared functional types. This indicates a shift toward more specialized nematode communities in structurally enhanced stands.
| Status Group | Doctoral Researcher |
|---|---|
| Poster Presentation Option | Undecided/No preference |
