Mixed-species versus monocultures in plantation forestry: Development, benefits, ecosystem services and perspectives for the future

In the context of sustainable forest management and climate change, increasing tree richness has been proposed as a possible strategy to reach both ecological and productivity goals. This review focuses on the effects of mixed stands and increasing tree richness on soil fauna in temperate forests. Effects on earthworm and microarthropod (Collembola and Oribatid Mites) species diversity and abundance and community structure are examined, and clues to the main factors affecting soil communities in these stands are proposed. Our statistical analyses showed no evidence of any general trend for the effect of mixture either on earthworm or microarthropod diversity or on their abundance. Indeed, positive, negative and non-significant effects have all been reported. Nevertheless, the majority of the studies did find that increased tree richness or the introduction of broad-leaves had a positive effect. In addition, our review shows that soil organism abundance and diversity can be strongly affected by the presence of certain tree species and that the soil organism community structure is, in most cases, significantly affected by an increase in tree richness or by a mixing effect. Litter features appear to be important drivers of soil fauna community composition, while mixture effect seems to have less impact on soil biota. Soil fauna are directly affected by the physical characteristics (microhabitats) and chemical composition (resource quality) of the litter specific to each tree species. Soil communities are then indirectly affected by the subsequent humus characteristics. We conclude our review with some guidelines for forest management and further research.

How tree diversity affects soil fauna diversity: A review

Ecological research conducted over the past five decades has shown that increasing tree species richness at forest stands can improve tree resistance to insect pest damage. However, the commonality...

Tree Diversity and Forest Resistance to Insect Pests: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Prospects.

How does forest management affect fungal diversity and community composition? Current knowledge and future perspectives for the conservation of forest fungi

Forests in Central Europe have been used since centuries and were systematically changed by silvicultural practices since the late 1700s. Focusing on possible biodiversity losses, forest stand management primarily impacts on the biodiversity attributes ‘composition, structure and functioning’ that are interlinked and incorporate different organizational and spatial ecosystem levels. Forest stand management can manipulate tree species diversity, which in turn affects stand structure and finally leads to changes in forest functions and services. We used meta-analyses to review 49 papers with 197 comparisons on compositional and structural diversity between unmanaged and managed forests as well as 53 comparisons of biomass productivity between mixed and monoculture forests throughout the temperate biome of Europe. Besides management impacts, for species and structural comparisons, we took time since abandonment of forest stand management into consideration when dealing with unmanaged forests. For species richness and diversity, we could not detect significant management effects; no significant influences of time since abandonment of management could be identified either. Structural attributes partly revealed considerable responses to forest stand management. Importantly, deadwood quantity, the number of microhabitats, and tree size diversity were reduced by forest stand management, while no effect was found for stand basal area and the number of living trees. Some of these effects become more pronounced with increasing time since abandonment. Forest productivity was significantly enhanced by regular moderate thinning compared with untreated stands and by tree species mixing compared with monospecific stands. Based on these results, we discuss the role of direct and indirect silvicultural effects, interactions between biodiversity components, the problem of defining the unmanaged reference state, and perspectives for forest stand management in practice.

Effect of forest stand management on species composition, structural diversity, and productivity in the temperate zone of Europe

Increasing environmental concerns with forestry have led to mounting interest in mixedwood management as a possible strategy to achieve a diversity of ecological and productivity goals within the c...

Importance of mixedwoods for biodiversity conservation: Evidence for understory plants, songbirds, soil fauna, and ectomycorrhizae in northern forests

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Importance of mixedwoods for biodiversity conservation: Evidence for understory plants, songbirds, soil fauna, and ectomycorrhizae in northern forests