Biodiversity of plantation forests in Ireland

- BIOFOREST PROJECT

J. O’Halloran, T. Gittings, G Smith, M.Wilson, A. Oxbrough, S. O’Donoghue, L. French

P. S Giller, S. Iremonger, J. Pithon, D.L. Kelly, F. Mitchell,

T Kelly, P. Dowding, A. O’Sullivan, P. Neville

BIOFOREST ProjectBIOFOREST Project

Financed by: NDP through EPA and COFORD

Large-Scale Project in the Environmental RTDI Programme for 2000-2006

Broad aim: to address some of the gaps that exist in the current understanding of biodiversity of commercial plantation forests in Ireland

Expertise of participantsUCC: Fauna

Invertebrate ecology (incl Hoverflies, Spiders, Moths )

BirdsUCC: Mapping

Extensive GIS experienceTCD: Flora

Flowering plants, Ferns, Bryophytes, Lichens and Fungi

Coillte Teo: Forest management Site inventory and GIS data Liaison with industry

BIOFOREST ProjectBIOFOREST ProjectThree sub-projectsThree sub-projects

Project Biodiversity assessment of 3.1.1. afforestation sites

Project Assessment of biodiversity 3.1.2 at different stages of the forest cycle

Project Investigation of experimental 3.1.3 methods to enhance biodiversity in plantation forests.

BIOFOREST Field Sites2001-2002

Afforestation Project 3.1.1. A Three-pronged Approach

• Review pre-afforestation biodiversity assessment methodologies to draft a suitable methodology for afforestation sites in Ireland.

• Review current knowledge on the biodiversity of habitat types most usually used for planting to reinforce the choice of indicators of biodiversity in each habitat type.

• The outputs from two reviews, helped guide the ecological surveys conducted across a range of study sites.  

What is the biodiversity of pre-afforestation sites?

Fieldwork 2002 – selected four broad habitat types Wet grassland Cut-over blanket bog Improved grassland Wet heath

Afforestation Project – Ecological Surveys Inventory representative groups within

the plant and animal communities of a range of representative sites prior to afforestation.

Identify useful indicators or predictors of biodiversity

Identify the main issues in long-term monitoring of potential forestry sites

Assess the changes over 2-5 years after planting

Preliminary analysis of plant metrics for 3.1.1. sites

Variable Sites N Mean t pSpeciesrichness2x2m

UnplantedPlanted

4848

17.2511.35

4.74 0.000

Speciesrichness10x10m

UnplantedPlanted

2424

28.0826.13

-0.59 0.558

ShannonIndex

UnplantedPlanted

4848

1.961.55

4.077 0.000

3.1.2 Growth Cycle

Project– Main Objectives

Assess the range of biodiversity in representative forests at key stages of the forest cycle

Review and recommend opportunities for enhancement of biodiversity in plantation forests

Assess the efficacy of the Forest Service Guidelines for Forestry and Biodiversity

Growth Cycle Project

-Methodological Approach

Study sites were selected for tree species dominance and growth stage, and covering as broad a geographical area as is practicable

Field data collected using standard survey methods on particular components of biodiversity, including specialists on dead wood, in relation to the forest cycle.

Identify appropriate indicators (either structural, compositional, functional) of plantation forest biodiversity

Growth Cycle Project - Forest types and age

Fieldwork 2001 & 2002Sitka forests: 5yr, thicket, mid-rotation, matureSitka-Ash forest: 5yr, thicket, matureAsh forests: 5yr, thicket, matureSitka controls for the mature sitka-ash sitesSites were clustered geographically

Data recorded

142 botanical quadrats from 39 sites: flora65 malaise traps from 35 sites: syrphidae,

lepidoptera1575 pitfall samples x 3 sampling periods

from 35 sites: spiders (possibly coleoptera)4-9 bird point-counts for each of 40 sites,

two visits to each site: total 380 data sets

Botanical data224 vascular species96 bryophyte speciesIdentification is completedSuggestion from data that

thicket sites of mixed forest species supports greatest number of species,

mid-rotation sites impoverished ash sites were richest in flowering plants sitka sites were richest in bryophytes

Habitat associations of hoverflies in malaise samples from forest roads and sitka forest

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Forest/scrubspecialist

Generalist Supplementaryopen space

Open spacespecialist

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Generalist Supplementary openspace

Open spacespecialist

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Sitka

Road

Spider species richness of ride and within forest pitfalls in Fuhiry mature forest, Co. Cork

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Ride Forest

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Thicket Sitka Thicket Mix Thicket Ash

Mid-rotation Sitka

Mature Sitka Mature Mix Mature Ash

Effect of Age and Tree Species on Bird Communities in Irish Forestry

How can forest biodiversity be enhanced? Project 3.1.3.

Open space and biodiversity Objectives for BIOFORESTApproaches used

Current use and FBG BIOFOREST approach of this project

• field surveys• experimental manipulations

Enhancement of biodiversity

Biodiversity and open space:‘The treatment of open space is the single

most important factor in the success or failure of nature conservation with plantations’ (Peterken 1996)

Current FBG recommend 15% open space and retained habitats in new plantations

Current practiceReview of ABE designation in afforestation grant applications (n = 94): preliminary results

Most ABEs not fully mapped or quantified

Most frequently included habitats: Aquatic buffer zones Ridelines Boundary/public road setback Hedgerow (and setback) Open space/retained habitat

Objectives

Determine the effects of different configurations of open space on biodiversity within forested areas

Determine the effects of experimental manipulations regarding open space in forests

Make recommendations as to how management practices can positively affect biodiversity in forests

Work programme includes:Review and full analysis of grant applications to determine

configuration of open space designated under FBGField surveys to examine the relationship between

biodiversity and open space managementExperimental manipulations to test the observed

relationships between biodiversity and open space management

Groups studied will be mainly birds, hoverflies, spiders, higher and lower plants with a special emphasis among the plant groups on epiphytes

Field surveys

Total percentage of open spaceComposition of open space (ridelines,

retained open habitats, deer glades, firebreaks, etc.)

Distribution of open spaceManagement of open spaceProbably restricted to mid-rotation Sitka

spruce

Experimental manipulations

Enlarging of existing open spacesCreation of new open spaces

Both of the above will establish a pattern of open spaces that can be monitored for a more prolonged period of time, to produce a solid dataset on the effects of open space management on forest biodiversity

Biodiversity Enhancement

How can you help? Inform us of sites with interesting open space

configurations Information on typical open space management

practices Site maps and history for all 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 sites Give us feedback on our approaches and their

practical relevance

Project Website

http://bioforest.ucc.ie