Abstract
We studied ptyctimous moss mites, which are characteristic of forest habitats, in Norwegian broadleaf forests considered as biodiversity hotspot areas in Fennoscandia. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different factors (regional locality, annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, forest type, forest wetness and microhabitat) on the ptyctimous mites and on discovering their richness in broadleaf forests. Samples were collected from nine broadleaf forests in Western, Southern and Eastern Norway, in different climatic conditions, six forest types, three forest wetness states and eight microhabitats. Overall, 3341 ptyctimous mites were collected and their abundance differed significantly among the regions, forest types and microhabitats. Forest type turned out to be the most important factor, responsible for 24.5% of the total variation in the abundance of the ptyctimous mites. Other important factors were forest wetness and microhabitat. In total, 27 species, i.e., 87% of all ptyctimous mites known from before in Norway were found and the species richness was highest in the east and lowest in the west of the country. Atropacarus (Atropacarus) striculus was most common and most abundant; it made nearly 30% of all ptyctimous mites collected. On the other hand, a quarter of the species were represented by less than 10 specimens; most of these were new records for Norway. Among ten species discovered as new to Norway, four were also new to Fennoscandia. These findings confirm the unique character and high biological diversity of Norwegian broadleaf forests.
Highlights
Mites are no exceptions and 15 records of oribatid mites new for Norway have been recently found just in one broadleaf forest (Seniczak et al 2019a), whereas ten new records of mesostigmatid mites were reported from two broadleaf forests (Bolger et al 2018), all in Western Norway
This high number of new records is partially related to the fact that the acarofauna of broadleaf forests is poorly studied, both in Norway and in Fennoscandia (Huhta et al 2005), and most acarological studies in Norway have focused on coniferous forests (e.g., Hågvar 1998; Hågvar and Amundsen 1981; Thunes et al 2003, 2004; for more references see Seniczak et al 2019a)
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different factors: regional locality (Western, Southern and Eastern Norway), annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, forest type, forest wetness, and forest microhabitat on the ptyctimous communities, as well as to discover the richness of these mites in Norwegian broadleaf forests
Summary
They cover only about 22,000 km, i.e., only 17% of all forests and slightly less than 6% of the area of Norway (Norwegian Ministry of the Environment 2011). They are located along the western and southern coasts, where there is high precipitation and winters are relatively warm. This high number of new records is partially related to the fact that the acarofauna of broadleaf forests is poorly studied, both in Norway and in Fennoscandia (Huhta et al 2005), and most acarological studies in Norway have focused on coniferous forests (e.g., Hågvar 1998; Hågvar and Amundsen 1981; Thunes et al 2003, 2004; for more references see Seniczak et al 2019a)
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