The foraging activity of bats in managed pine forests of different ages

Andrzej Węgiel,Matina Kalcounis-Rüppell,Jolanta Węgiel,Paweł Kmiecik,Witold Grzywiński,Mateusz Ciechanowski,Anna Kmiecik,Radosław Jaros

doi:10.1007/s10342-019-01174-6

Abstract

Temperate zone bats are associated with forests and affected by forest management practices. However, practices vary among regions and countries, and the relationship between bats and managed forest stands is not well understood. We compared the activity of bats in three forest management areas across four stand ages of managed Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in western Poland. Stand ages included clear-cut stands, young (2–5 year) stands, middle-aged (41–60 year) stands, and mature (> 80 years) stands. We sampled bat activity by walking transects with a broadband ultrasound Pettersson D-1000X detector. Across our study area, highest bat activity was in clear-cut and young stands and lowest in mature stands. Bat species adapted to foraging in open habitats had high activity in clear and young stands, while those adapted to closed habitats had high activity in middle-aged and mature stands. Our results suggest that the presence of mature pine forests is important for closed-habitat foragers, including rare and threatened bat species, and active management to increase mature forest areas is important. At the same time, a mosaic of different growth stages of stands can support high activity of open- and edge-habitat foragers.

Highlights

Temperate coniferous forest is the main forest type in the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America in the mid-latitudes, typically between 25 and 70 degrees N latitude (Schmitt et al 2009), and is part of the northern boreal forest (Faber-Langendoen et al 2016)
The remaining eight species that made up 1.7% of the total passes were the Nathusius’ pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii), greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis), soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus), Natterer’s bat (Myotis nattereri), western barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus), lesser noctule (Nyctalus leisleri), northern bat (Eptesicus nilssonii), and parti-coloured bat (Vespertilio murinus) (Table 2)
Our study revealed that stand age is a factor that shapes commuting and feeding activity of bats in managed pine forests in Poland

Summary

Introduction

Temperate coniferous forest is the main forest type in the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America in the mid-latitudes, typically between 25 and 70 degrees N latitude (Schmitt et al 2009), and is part of the northern boreal forest (Faber-Langendoen et al 2016). In Europe, coniferous forest land cover can range from more than 80% of the total forest cover in Sweden to less than 10% of the total forest cover in Serbia (McCarthy et al 2011). Polish forests are composed of native tree species with mixed and structured stands consisting of several age and size cohorts. These forests are managed for multiple ecosystem services

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