surface covering of downed logs drivers of a neglected process in dead wood ecology表面覆盖的倒下的日志司机忽视无用的生态学过程.pdfVIP

Surface Covering of Downed Logs: Drivers of a Neglected Process in Dead Wood Ecology 1 2 ¨ ´ 3 Mats Dynesius *, Heloise Gibb , Joakim Hjalten ˚ ˚ 1 Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umea University, Umea, Sweden, 2 Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, 3 Department ˚ of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umea, Sweden Abstract Many species use coarse woody debris (CWD) and are disadvantaged by the forestry-induced loss of this resource. A neglected process affecting CWD is the covering of the surfaces of downed logs caused by sinking into the ground (increasing soil contact, mostly covering the underside of the log), and dense overgrowth by ground vegetation. Such cover is likely to profoundly influence the quality and accessibility of CWD for wood-inhabiting organisms, but the factors affecting covering are largely unknown. In a five-year experiment we determined predictors of covering rate of fresh logs in boreal forests and clear-cuts. Logs with branches were little covered because they had low longitudinal ground contact. For branchless logs, longitudinal ground contact was most strongly related to estimated peat depth (positive relation). The strongest predictor for total cover of branchless logs was longitudinal ground contact. To evaluate the effect on cover of factors other than longitudinal ground contact, we separately analyzed data from only those log sections that were in contact with the ground. Four factors were prominent predictors of percentage cover of such lo