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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 Project. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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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
0
50
100
150
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300
Forest/scrubspecialist
Generalist Supplementaryopen space
Open spacespecialist
Nu
mb
er
of
ind
ivid
ua
ls/s
ite
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1
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6
7
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9
10
Forest/scrubspecialist
Generalist Supplementary openspace
Open spacespecialist
Num
ber
of s
pec
ies/
site
Sitka
Road
Spider species richness of ride and within forest pitfalls in Fuhiry mature forest, Co. Cork
0
5
10
15
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25
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35
Ride Forest
Spec
ies
richn
ess
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
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