Habitat on the move : translocation of deadwood and associated species as a novel conservation tool

Abstract

Restoration of degraded habitat is frequently used in ecological compensation, although it often faces challenges of long delivery times of features important for biodiversity, such as old large dead trees, and difficulties for target species to find and colonize restored areas. Conservation translocation of entire communities of substrates and species is a novel method used in ecological compensation and restoration, to mitigate negative effects of land-use on biodiversity. In a large-scale field experiment in boreal forests of Sweden, I tested a possible way to circumvent the uncertainty of restoration efforts; translocation of deadwood substrates from an impact area to a compensation area. My research focused on the effects of deadwood translocation on several saproxylic organism groups and habitat availability. I assessed how abundance, species richness and assemblages of beetles, bryophytes and lichens were influenced by translocation to a compensation area. By translocating different types of deadwood, the method showed potential in quickly providing habitats important for biodiversity, as well as translocating species to the compensation area. However, the outcomes vary depending on species group. Increased species richness and richer assemblages of saproxylic beetles were noted, especially in areas with high density of translocated deadwood. Sessile species responded differently with unchanged species richness for lichens and increased richness for bryophytes. However, challenges such as differing deadwood composition between impact and compensation sites, and the need for higher efforts to achieve landscape-level compensation, indicate that the method requires further refinement. These findings suggest that deadwood translocation could be a cost-efficient tool in ecological restoration, yet underscore the importance of continued evaluation to optimize methods and fully realize the benefits for biodiversity.