Biodiversity of most dead wood-dependent organisms in thermophilic temperate oak woodlands thrives on diversity of open landscape structures

Abstract

Oak and mixed deciduous forests with oaks are the most widespread woodland types in the central European lowlands. The aim of this study was to analyse how the biodiversity of saproxylic organisms (fungi, lichens, beetles, and ants, bees and wasps) in thermophilic temperate oak woodlands respond to the openness in landscape structure of tree habitats. We sampled 32 sites in a split-plot design in Krivoklatsko (Czech Republic), which were chosen to include spatial diversity, including dense forests, open forests, woodland edges and solitary trees. A canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) and generalized additive models (GAM) were used for analyses. The results indicated that the taxa studied showed differences in species composition among the studied landscape structures and most taxa preferred more open and light conditions of the woodland environment. We also observed positive effect of the heterogeneity in open landscape structures on biodiversity of saproxylic organisms. As it is recently showed by ecologists, most of the thermophilic oak woodlands are threatened by succession, saproxylic organisms are facing decline throughout the world and traditional forest management (e.g. game keeping, wood pasturing or coppicing) appears to be one solution to mitigate biodiversity loss.