Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal
Wind disturbances and consequent salvage logging lead to drastic changes in forest soil conditions, vegetation and microclimate, potentially affecting arthropod communities. In mountain regions, topography is expected to be particularly important to modulate the effect of canopy removal and soil dis...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Basic and Applied Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179122000883 |
| _version_ | 1797755092260093952 |
|---|---|
| author | Davide Nardi Filippo Giannone Lorenzo Marini |
| author_facet | Davide Nardi Filippo Giannone Lorenzo Marini |
| author_sort | Davide Nardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wind disturbances and consequent salvage logging lead to drastic changes in forest soil conditions, vegetation and microclimate, potentially affecting arthropod communities. In mountain regions, topography is expected to be particularly important to modulate the effect of canopy removal and soil disturbance potentially amplifying the ecological contrast between forest and disturbed areas. Here, we studied the short-term response of ground beetles (Carabidae), spiders (Araneae), and harvestmen (Opiliones) in wind-damaged spruce forests along statistically orthogonal gradients in elevation, slope, and aspect. We addressed three main ecological questions: (i) Does the effect of wind disturbance on diversity depend on topography? (ii) Are there specific taxon-related responses to disturbances?, and (iii) What is the role of dispersal in shaping species assembly dynamics? We generally observed that increasing slope and elevation amplified the differences between undisturbed forest and windfall areas. On the one hand, the diversity of ground beetles and harvestmen seemed to be negatively affected by wind disturbance, causing a loss of specialized forest species with a low rate of colonization of species typical of open habitats. On the other hand, several novel spider species were able to rapidly colonize windfalls and community composition strongly shifted from forest to disturbed areas. Species with long-range dispersal strategies (e.g. flying and ballooning) were those more likely to colonize windfalls. Our findings suggest that disturbance effects on ground-dwelling organisms were modulated by underlying environmental gradients and that short-term response of different taxa was dependent on their dispersal ability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:41:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5ed6bebaf6e4d679bb361b69f269458 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1439-1791 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T17:41:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Basic and Applied Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5ed6bebaf6e4d679bb361b69f2694582023-08-04T05:46:40ZengElsevierBasic and Applied Ecology1439-17912022-12-01658695Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersalDavide Nardi0Filippo Giannone1Lorenzo Marini2DAFNAE, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy; Forest Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Edmund Mach via E. Mach, 1-San Michele all'Adige 38010 TN, Italy; Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection - National Research Council (IPSP-CNR), via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy; Corresponding author at: DAFNAE, University of Padova: Universita degli Studi di Padova, Via dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy.via J. della Quercia 13E, Padova, ItalyDAFNAE, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, ItalyWind disturbances and consequent salvage logging lead to drastic changes in forest soil conditions, vegetation and microclimate, potentially affecting arthropod communities. In mountain regions, topography is expected to be particularly important to modulate the effect of canopy removal and soil disturbance potentially amplifying the ecological contrast between forest and disturbed areas. Here, we studied the short-term response of ground beetles (Carabidae), spiders (Araneae), and harvestmen (Opiliones) in wind-damaged spruce forests along statistically orthogonal gradients in elevation, slope, and aspect. We addressed three main ecological questions: (i) Does the effect of wind disturbance on diversity depend on topography? (ii) Are there specific taxon-related responses to disturbances?, and (iii) What is the role of dispersal in shaping species assembly dynamics? We generally observed that increasing slope and elevation amplified the differences between undisturbed forest and windfall areas. On the one hand, the diversity of ground beetles and harvestmen seemed to be negatively affected by wind disturbance, causing a loss of specialized forest species with a low rate of colonization of species typical of open habitats. On the other hand, several novel spider species were able to rapidly colonize windfalls and community composition strongly shifted from forest to disturbed areas. Species with long-range dispersal strategies (e.g. flying and ballooning) were those more likely to colonize windfalls. Our findings suggest that disturbance effects on ground-dwelling organisms were modulated by underlying environmental gradients and that short-term response of different taxa was dependent on their dispersal ability.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179122000883AraneaeDispersalCarabidaeGround beetlesHarvestmenOpiliones |
| spellingShingle | Davide Nardi Filippo Giannone Lorenzo Marini Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal Basic and Applied Ecology Araneae Dispersal Carabidae Ground beetles Harvestmen Opiliones |
| title | Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| title_full | Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| title_fullStr | Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| title_short | Short-term response of ground-dwelling arthropods to storm-related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| title_sort | short term response of ground dwelling arthropods to storm related disturbances is mediated by topography and dispersal |
| topic | Araneae Dispersal Carabidae Ground beetles Harvestmen Opiliones |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179122000883 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidenardi shorttermresponseofgrounddwellingarthropodstostormrelateddisturbancesismediatedbytopographyanddispersal AT filippogiannone shorttermresponseofgrounddwellingarthropodstostormrelateddisturbancesismediatedbytopographyanddispersal AT lorenzomarini shorttermresponseofgrounddwellingarthropodstostormrelateddisturbancesismediatedbytopographyanddispersal |