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<p>The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the ecological consequences of buffer strip retention on riparian and terrestrial biodiversity. Earlier studies on forest buffer strips have evaluated their effectiveness in relation to water quality and aquatic biota. However, forests along streams are species rich habitats for many organism groups. Buffer strip management is assumed to be important also for protecting such species. Current approaches to biodiversity-oriented forest management practices need to be scientifically evaluated. In this thesis the effects on bryophytes and land snails have been evaluated.</p><p>A before-and-after experiment along 15 small streams in northern Sweden showed that buffer strips of 10 m on each side of the stream moderated the negative effects exhibited at the clear-cuts. The number of land snail species remained similar as to before logging and the number of vanished bryophyte species was lower in the buffer strips than in the clear-cuts. The ground moisture influenced the survival rate of land snails at the clear-cuts. At mesic sites many species vanished but at wet sites the snail fauna was unaffected by the logging.</p><p>Many bryophyte species, most of them liverworts, decreased or disappeared in the buffer strips. These were mostly growing on substrates elevated from the forest floor, such as logs, stumps and tree-bases. A number of nationally red-listed species, sensitive for changes in microclimate, were among those decreasing most. Thus, for the species in most need of protection the buffer strips were too narrow.</p><p>An experiment with bryophyte transplants followed over a season showed that wet ground moisture moderated the negative edge effects in narrow buffer strips. On the other hand, the growth in mesic and moist sites was almost as low as in comparable clear-cuts.</p><p>Microclimatic edge effects are stronger at south facing than north-facing edges of forest clear-cuts. This was shown in an experiment using bryophyte growth as an indicator of differences in microclimate. However, the depth of edge influence seemed to be similar between north- and south-facing forest edges, >30 m for one species. An explanation for this could be that wind penetrates deeper into edges than solar radiation and has a more variable direction.</p><p>In conclusion, narrow buffer strips consist entirely of edge habitat. For many species the environment in buffer strips is good enough for persistence. For others, most notably bryophyte species on convex substrates, wider buffer strips are needed to ensure long-term survival. </p>

The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the ecological consequences of buffer strip retention on riparian and terrestrial biodiversity. Earlier studies on forest buffer strips have evaluated their effectiveness in relation to water quality and aquatic biota. However, forests along streams are species rich habitats for many organism groups. Buffer strip management is assumed to be important also for protecting such species. Current approaches to biodiversity-oriented forest management practices need to be scientifically evaluated. In this thesis the effects on bryophytes and land snails have been evaluated. A before-and-after experiment along 15 small streams in northern Sweden showed that buffer strips of 10 m on each side of the stream moderated the negative effects exhibited at the clear-cuts. The number of land snail species remained similar as to before logging and the number of vanished bryophyte species was lower in the buffer strips than in the clear-cuts. The ground moisture influenced the survival rate of land snails at the clear-cuts. At mesic sites many species vanished but at wet sites the snail fauna was unaffected by the logging. Many bryophyte species, most of them liverworts, decreased or disappeared in the buffer strips. These were mostly growing on substrates elevated from the forest floor, such as logs, stumps and tree-bases. A number of nationally red-listed species, sensitive for changes in microclimate, were among those decreasing most. Thus, for the species in most need of protection the buffer strips were too narrow. An experiment with bryophyte transplants followed over a season showed that wet ground moisture moderated the negative edge effects in narrow buffer strips. On the other hand, the growth in mesic and moist sites was almost as low as in comparable clear-cuts. Microclimatic edge effects are stronger at south facing than north-facing edges of forest clear-cuts. This was shown in an experiment using bryophyte growth as an indicator of differences in microclimate. However, the depth of edge influence seemed to be similar between north- and south-facing forest edges, &gt;30 m for one species. An explanation for this could be that wind penetrates deeper into edges than solar radiation and has a more variable direction. In conclusion, narrow buffer strips consist entirely of edge habitat. For many species the environment in buffer strips is good enough for persistence. For others, most notably bryophyte species on convex substrates, wider buffer strips are needed to ensure long-term survival.

Abstract As human activities are increasingly affecting natural communities, many communities are impacted by multiple stressors and their interactions. Understanding how natural and anthropogenic stressors act individually and in concert is essential for managing and conserving natural ecosystems efficiently. In this thesis I studied how geology-related natural acidity, land drainage and their interaction affect biological communities and leaf decomposition in boreal headwater streams. I further assessed the concordance of communities along natural and anthropogenic stressor gradients. As model organisms, I used benthic diatoms, bryophytes, invertebrates and leaf-decomposing fungi. I showed that geology-related natural acidity constitutes a strong environmental filter for stream communities, reducing species richness and changing community composition. Community concordance was also generally strongest along the natural acidity gradient. However, natural acidity mostly did not homogenize communities nor did it affect leaf decomposition by fungi. Effects of peatland drainage differed between the two stream types, being mainly sedimentation in the circumneutral streams and increasing metal concentrations in the acid streams. Overall, changes in community composition were better able than pure species richness to track single stressor impacts. Furthermore, fungal assemblages were more homogeneous and decomposition rates slower in drained acidic sites than in any other stream type. Thus the drainage-induced shift in water chemistry in the acidic streams seems to constitute an even stronger environmental filter than sedimentation. Conservation planning needs to give special attention to these vulnerable, naturally stressful ecosystems. / Tiivistelmä Ihmistoiminnan vaikuttaessa yhä enemmän luonnon elinympäristöihin eliöyhteisöihin kohdistuu usein samanaikaisesti monenlaisia paineita. Ekosysteemien tehokas hoitaminen ja suojelu edellyttävät tarkkaa tietoa siitä, miten luonnollinen stressi ja ihmistoiminta yhdessä ja erikseen vaikuttavat ekosysteemeihin. Väitöskirjassani tutkin, kuinka geologiasta johtuva luonnollinen happamuus ja metsäojitus vaikuttavat boreaalisten purojen eliöyhteisöihin ja lehtikarikkeen hajotukseen. Tarkastelin myös eliöryhmien yhdenmukaisuutta ihmistoimintagradientilla ja luonnollisella stressigradientilla. Malliorganismeinani olivat piilevät, vesisammalet, pohjaeläimet ja hajottajasienet. Väitöskirjassani osoitan, että geologiasta johtuva puroveden happamuus toimii merkittävänä ympäristösuodattimena purojen eliöyhteisöille vähentäen lajirunsautta ja muokaten lajistoa. Myös eliöryhmien lajistovaihtelu oli yhdenmukaisinta luonnollisella happamuusgradientilla. Toisaalta luonnollinen happamuus ei vaikuttanut merkittävästi lehtikarikkeen hajotukseen tai purojen väliseen sieniyhteisöjen monimuotoisuuteen. Metsäojituksen fysikaalis-kemiallinen vaikutus erosi purotyypeittäin: pH-neutraaleissa puroissa ojitus pääosin lisäsi pohjan hiekoittumista, kun taas happamissa puroissa veden metallipitoisuudet kasvoivat entisestään. Yleisesti ottaen sekä luonnollisen happamuuden että metsäojituksen vaikutukset näkyivät parhaiten muutoksina eliöyhteisöjen lajikoostumuksessa. Lisäksi ojitetuissa happamissa puroissa hajottajasieniyhteisöjen lajistot olivat keskenään samankaltaisempia ja lehtikarikkeen hajotus hitaampaa kuin muissa purotyypeissä. Metsäojituksen aikaansaama muutos luonnollisesti happamien purojen vesikemiassa näyttää siis olevan jopa merkittävämpi ympäristösuodatin kuin pohjan hiekoittuminen. Luonnollisesti stressattujen elinympäristöjen herkkyys maankäytön muutoksille tulisikin huomioida ympäristön hoidon suunnittelussa nykyistä paremmin.

L’objectif de ce mémoire était d’évaluer l’influence de la latitude, de variables abiotiques et du type de tourbières (bog ou fen) sur la diversité des plantes vasculaires et des bryophytes. Des inventaires ont été réalisés dans 380 tourbières du nord-ouest du Québec (49° à 55° N). Les effets de la latitude, de la continentalité, du climat et de variables abiotiques locales sur la diversité α (richesse spécifique et dispersion fonctionnelle), la diversité β (indices LCBD) et la composition ont été évalués pour les deux groupes de plantes. La diversité α des bryophytes augmentait vers le nord, alors que la diversité α des plantes vasculaires présentait des patrons différents dans les bogs et les fens en réponse à la latitude. Il y avait une homogénéisation taxonomique et fonctionnelle vers le nord pour les deux groupes de plantes et dans les deux types de tourbières. Les variables environnementales avaient des effets différents sur les deux groupes de plantes, dépendamment de l’indicateur de biodiversité utilisé. La composition taxonomique et fonctionnelle des bryophytes et des plantes vasculaires étaient principalement structurées par les conditions locales contrastantes entre les bogs et les fens, tandis que les variations bioclimatiques le long du gradient latitudinal jouaient un rôle secondaire. Les futures études et politiques de gestion des milieux naturels devraient tenir compte de plus d’un indicateur de diversité et considérer les différences entre les deux écosystèmes et les deux groupes de taxons afin de planifier les efforts de conservation et afin d’évaluer les effets des changements environnementaux. / This study aimed to evaluate the influence of latitude, abiotic variables on vascular and bryophyte diversity in bogs and fens. Inventories were conducted in 380 peatlands in northeastern Québec (49° to 55° N). Changes in α-diversity (species richness and functional dispersion), β-diversity (LCBD indices) and composition in response to latitude, continentality, climate, and local abiotic variables were evaluated for both plant groups. Bryophyte α-diversity increased northward, while vascular α-diversity showed contrasting patterns in bogs and fens in response to latitude. Environmental variables had different effects on both species’ groups, and patterns varied depending on the diversity indicator used, as α- and β-diversity and functional and taxonomic diversity were often decoupled. There was taxonomic and functional homogenization with latitude for both groups of plants in both habitats. Bryophyte and vascular taxonomic and functional composition were primarily structured by contrasting local conditions in bogs and fens, while bioclimatic variations along the latitudinal gradient played a secondary role. These results highlight the contrasting biodiversity patterns in both peatland types and the importance of local habitat conditions in structuring vascular and bryophyte biodiversity. Therefore, future studies and policies should include more than one diversity indicator and consider the differences between ecosystems and taxon groups when evaluating the effects of environmental changes on biodiversity and planning conservation.