TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Pommer, Ulf
A1  - Hessenmöller, Dominik
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - Schulze, Ernst Detlef
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Effects of forest management on bryophyte species richness in Central European forests
JF  - Forest ecology and management
N2  - We studied the effect of three major forest management types (unmanaged beech, selection beech, and age class forests) and stand variables (SMId, soil pH, proportion of conifers, litter cover, deadwood cover, rock cover and cumulative cover of woody trees and shrubs) on bryophyte species richness in 1050 forest plots in three regions in Germany. In addition, we analysed the species richness of four ecological guilds of bryophytes according to their colonized substrates (deadwood, rock, soil, bark) and the number of woodland indicator bryophyte species. Beech selection forests turned out to be the most species rich management type, whereas unmanaged beech forests revealed even lower species numbers than age-class forests. Increasing conifer proportion increased bryophyte species richness but not the number of woodland indicator bryophyte species. The richness of the four ecological guilds mainly responded to the abundance of their respective substrate. We conclude that the permanent availability of suitable substrates is most important for bryophyte species richness in forests, which is not stringently linked to management type. Therefore, managed age-class forests and selection forests may even exceed unmanaged forests in bryophyte species richness due to higher substrate supply and therefore represent important habitats for bryophytes. Typical woodland indicator bryophytes and their species richness were negatively affected by SMId (management intensity) and therefore better indicate forest integrity than the species richness of all bryophytes. Nature conservation efforts should focus on the reduction of management intensity. Moreover, maintaining and increasing a variability of substrates and habitats, such as coarse woody debris, increasing structural heterogeneity by retaining patches with groups of old, mature to over-mature trees in managed forests, maintaining forest climate conditions by silvicultural methods that assure stand continuity, e.g. by selection cutting rather than clear cutting and shelterwood logging might promote bryophyte diversity and in particular the one of woodland indicator bryophytes.
KW  - Beech forests
KW  - Conifer plantations
KW  - Cryptogams
KW  - Ecological guilds
KW  - Forest management
KW  - Temperate forests
KW  - Selection vs. age-class forests
KW  - Unmanaged vs. managed forests
KW  - Woodland indicator species
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.019
SN  - 0378-1127
SN  - 1872-7042
VL  - 432
SP  - 850
EP  - 859
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -