Today many saproxylic species are threatened because of habitat decline in Europe. Hollow trees represent a great part of the habitats that saproxylic species use. Since hollows takes a long time to develop, management actions are needed to prevent the extinction of saproxylic species. The aim of this study was to investigate the succession of saproxylic beetle species in artificial habitats in the form of wooden boxes. Wooden boxes were filled with a potential substrate and placed at different distances (0-1800 m) from oak hollow hot spots. In addition to the start mixture, four different additional substrates were added. In total, 4510 specimens of 114 saproxylic beetle species were sampled in 43 boxes over ten years. The specimens of tree-hollow species, wood rot species and nest species increased with 38% from the fourth to the final year but species richness decline from 47 to 29, respectively. A dead hen had a tendency for attracting more species but the small effect of different added substrates diminished over the years and had no significant effect on species richness after ten years. There was a higher similarity in species richness after ten years between the boxes and real hollow oaks. In conclusion, the artificial habitat developed into a more hollow like environment, with fewer but more abundant wood mould specialists, during ten years. This study clearly shows that the wooden boxes are used as habitats for saproxylic species as the boxes seems to develop into a more hollow-like habitat with time.

<p>Saproxylic species living in old hollow trees have low dispersal rate. Many of the species are threatened since their micro habitats are rare. To prevent some of these species from going extinct their habitats have to have the right management. In some areas artificial environment could be a solution. The aim of this study was to investigate if the insects that are dependent on tree cavities with wood mould would colonize an artificially created habitat: large wooden boxes filled with artificial wood mould placed on tree trunks. The boxes were filled with substrates like oak saw dust, oak leaves, dead hens, hen excrements, medicago (Medicago falcata flour) or potatoes. Over three years, 136 species and 10 380 specimens were caught in 47 boxes. The groups classified as specialists were in general statistically significant more often than groups classified as generalists. Dead hen was the substrate with the highest number of species, although differences were small. In conclusion, a large number of species, including red listed ones and saproxylic specialists used the boxes. A dead hen in the box gave some extra species and 1800 meters was too long for some of the species to disperse. Hence, the prospects for using artificial environments are good especially to reduce habitat availability gaps in time and space.</p>

Saproxylic species living in old hollow trees have low dispersal rate. Many of the species are threatened since their micro habitats are rare. To prevent some of these species from going extinct their habitats have to have the right management. In some areas artificial environment could be a solution. The aim of this study was to investigate if the insects that are dependent on tree cavities with wood mould would colonize an artificially created habitat: large wooden boxes filled with artificial wood mould placed on tree trunks. The boxes were filled with substrates like oak saw dust, oak leaves, dead hens, hen excrements, medicago (Medicago falcata flour) or potatoes. Over three years, 136 species and 10 380 specimens were caught in 47 boxes. The groups classified as specialists were in general statistically significant more often than groups classified as generalists. Dead hen was the substrate with the highest number of species, although differences were small. In conclusion, a large number of species, including red listed ones and saproxylic specialists used the boxes. A dead hen in the box gave some extra species and 1800 meters was too long for some of the species to disperse. Hence, the prospects for using artificial environments are good especially to reduce habitat availability gaps in time and space.

The highest terrestrial biodiversity in Sweden is connected to old grown deciduous trees with tree trunk hollows and dead wood, such as oak and maple. A reduction of deciduous forest and old grown trees from anthropological activities has left many habitats wanting in size and fragmented. Many saproxylic species that are dependent on old grown trees with tree trunk hollows are now threatened. The aim of this study was to further develop artificial habitats (boxes) used for conservation of saproxylic beetles. The boxes were made larger, placed in cities’ green areas and filled with produce from the surrounding areas. The study assessed the effectiveness of these boxes, regarding species richness and composition, compared with earlier studies and tree trunk hollows. The study also aimed to assess what variables might affect the species richness and family and species composition. During April to August 2019, 3454 individuals of 105 saproxylic species were collected in 55 boxes. Of the species dependent on tree trunk hollows, 45% were found in the boxes, compared with tree trunk hollows. Of the variables included shading of the box, the amount of buildings surrounding the box and the amount of forest surrounding the box were found to affect species richness. More shading and a larger forest area increased the species richness in the boxes, and a higher concentration of buildings decreased species richness in the boxes. Conclusively, this study showed that boxes placed in cities’ green areas could act as an alternative habitat for saproxylic beetles.

In many natural forests, forest managers fell and debark spruces (Picea abies) colonised by theEuropean spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) to prevent the beetle from spreading to other tree stands. The aim of this study was to examine how this method affects the biodiversity of other saproxylic beetle species. Eclector traps were installed on debarked and non-debarked dead spruces of four different ages in four nature reserves to compare the richness and composition of saproxylic beetles. The results indicated that a significantly higher number of species and individuals emerged from standing dead trees with bark compared to debarked logs. The highest emergence of species and individuals occurred in one-year-old standing trees with bark. There was a significant interaction between the type and the age of wood, suggesting thatthe richness declined with the aging of wood with bark, while it remained constantly low in debarked logs. The species composition varied greatly between standing trees with bark and debarked logs, as well as between standing trees with bark of different ages. This study demonstrated that debarking spruces as a pest control method reduces the diversity of nontarget saproxylic beetle species. Potential reasons behind that could be the hardening and drying of consumable parts of the wood, rendering it inhabitable for many saproxylic organisms, as well as the presence of the European spruce bark beetle itself, which is associated with many other species.

Forest management practices have changed the over-all structure of the Fennoscandian forest landscape resulting in a lack of suitable substrates for many wood-inhabiting species. The objectives of this thesis was to describe the colonization patterns of wood-inhabiting fungi, including the potential role of beetles as dispersal vectors, on different types of dead wood substrate and assess the importance of active measures in the forest landscape in order to restore biodiversity i.e. to increase the amount of dead wood and the use of restoration fire. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of restoration fire for wood-inhabiting fungi in a dry Pinus sylvestris forest. The general pattern for the majority of the species was a drastic decline the first two years after fire. However, after four years most of the species had recovered and were frequently found on logs strongly affected by the fire. The early fungal colonization patterns on fresh experimental Picea abies logs revealed no differences between managed forest stands and stands associated with nature reserves. After five years the species assemblage on the experimental logs was affected by stand age, forest site type, and distance to forest reserves. However, very few red-listed species colonized the logs in spite of being fairly common in the reserve stands. We conclude that the experimental period of only five years was too short to fully evaluate the possibilities to use experimental logs for threatened and red-listed species. We assessed the colonization patterns of different fungal functional groups based upon their different nutritional strategies namely mycorrhizal, saprotrophic on litter and humus, saprotrophic on wood causing white rot, and saprotrophic on wood causing brown rot. The results show that the fungal community undergoes a marked change in dominant nutritional strategies during the initial stage of the colonization process both after fire disturbance and on fresh un-colonized experimental logs. To which extent, saproxylic beetles are involved as passive or active vectors in the dispersal and colonization of wood-inhabiting fungi occurring on dead wood is poorly understood. The results clearly showed that some beetle species do discriminate between different fungal substrates and in particular, the bark beetle Dryocoetes autographus showed significant preference for wood with Fomitopsis rosea mycelium.

Oak habitats are rich in saproxylic species, but the habitat is declining with loss of diversity due to encroachment which decrease the vitality of oaks. The present explorative study compared results from a study conducted in 1994, with present species communities to observe if there has been change in species composition and what factors that can explain species diversity and composition. The results revealed that the overall species composition between 1994 and 2018 has changed. There were 130 species recorded in 2018 compared to 108 species in 1994 (31 new species were recorded in 2018, and 9 species lost from the study in 1994). There was a high species turnover recorded per individual tree, and the species composition between the living and encountered dead trees did not differ. Species composition was affected by canopy cover, and trunk circumference (CCA P-value 0.001 and 0.014 respectively). Unlike 1994, there were no variables in 2018 that could explain the association with species numbers. Warmer conditions recorded during the sampling period have probably led to increased flight activity of beetles and therefore increasing chances of capturing more species and individuals. The warmer conditions possibly shadowed the effects of the explanatory variables in explaining the changes in species numbers. Perhaps the change in species composition could also be attributed to existing management interventions that may be supporting an increasing species number of saproxylic beetles, however no strong conclusions could be drawn. Management interventions such as the recruitment of new oaks should be encouraged and intensified in order to provide habitats and support stable populations as the loss of oaks may lead to increased risk of extinction of the saproxylic beetles in the study area.

Die fortschreitende Fragmentierung von Wäldern ist eine der Hauptursachen für den Verlust von Biodiversität weltweit. Mit zunehmender Fragmentierung steigt der Anteil an Waldrandzonen, in denen die Eigenschaften eines Waldes stark verändert sein können. Wie stark diese Randeffekte ein Fragment beeinflussen, kann von der Habitatstruktur abhängen. Die Habitatstruktur ist wiederum maßgeblich durch die Baumartenzusammensetzung beeinflusst. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht zum ersten Mal gleichzeitig die Einflüsse von Randeffekten und Baumartenvielfalt und deren mögliche Interaktionen auf Krautschichtvegetation und Arthropoden. Die Untersuchungen hierzu wurden im Nationalpark Hainich, Deutschlands größtem zusammenhängenden Laubwaldgebiet, durchgeführt. Dafür wurden 12 Transekte angelegt, die vom Waldrand bis zu 500 m in das Waldesinnere hineinreichten. Sechs Transekte in baumartenarmen Waldstandorten mit einem hohen Buchenanteil (Fagus sylvatica L.) und weitere sechs in baumartenreichen Waldstandorten mit einem niedrigen Buchenanteil. Baumartenreiche Standorte wiesen bis zu neun Baumarten auf, wie z.B. Eiche, Esche, Linde und Ahorn. Entlang der Transekte wurden die Krautschichtvegetation und die Arthopodengemeinschaften untersucht. Im ersten Manuskript (Kapitel 2 dieser Arbeit) wurde die Krautschichtvegetation entlang des Rand-Innen-Gradienten aufgenommen. Eine Interaktion zwischen Randeffekten und Baumartenvielfalt beeinflusste den Pflanzenartenreichtum. In Waldbereichen mit hoher Baumartenvielfalt blieb die Artenzahl der Krautschicht vom Rand bis ins Waldesinnere konstant, wohingegen sie in baumartenarmen Bereichen stark abfiel. Die Krautschicht war somit in baumartenreichen Waldstandorten im Waldesinneren höher. Der Anteil an Waldspezialistenarten nahm mit zunehmender Entfernung vom Waldrand zur Mitte zu. Parallel dazu nahm der Anteil an Waldgeneralistenarten ab. Die Dominanz der Waldspezialisten war in buchendominierten Standorten stärker ausgeprägt, als in baumartenreichen. Auch die Artenzusammensetzung der Krautschicht wurde von der Distanz zum Waldrand und der Baumartenvielfalt beeinflusst. Sie wies in baumartenreichen Standorten und mit zunehmender Nähe zum Rand eine hohe Variabilität auf. Die Baumartenvielfalt steuerte die Dicke der Streuschicht, die unter allen untersuchten Umweltfaktoren den größten Einfluss auf die Diversität der Krautschicht hatte. Im zweiten Manuskript (Kapitel 3 dieser Arbeit) wurden bodenlebende Arthropoden (Laufkäfer, Kurzflügelkäfer und Spinnen) untersucht. Die Reaktion der Gesamtartenzahl auf Baumartenvielfalt und Entfernung zum Waldrand war je nach Taxon unterschiedlich. Allerdings zeigten sich übereinstimmende Muster, nachdem die Arten hinsichtlich ihrer Habitataffinität und Körpergröße in Gruppen eingeteilt worden waren. Über alle Taxa hinweg wurde die Anzahl der Waldarten weder von der Baumartenvielfalt noch von der Randnähe nennenswert beeinflusst und die Körpergröße der Waldarten spielte keine Rolle. Allerdings reagierten einzelne Waldarten positiv auf eine erhöhte Baumartenvielfalt, während andere davon negativ beeinflusst waren. Die Artenzahl der Habitatgeneralisten nahm vom Waldrand zur Waldmitte hin stark ab. Dieser Effekt wurde jedoch, außer bei den Spinnen, durch eine höhere Baumartenvielfalt abgeschwächt. Die Artenzahl der Habitatgeneralisten, insbesondere der kleinen Arten, reagierte positiv auf eine erhöhte Baumartenvielfalt im Waldesinneren. Die beobachteten Effekte sind höchstwahrscheinlich das Resultat von durch Baumartenvielfalt und Randnähe veränderten Umweltfaktoren und einer erhöhten Habitatheterogenität am Waldboden. Im dritten Manuskript (Kapitel 4 dieser Arbeit) wurde untersucht, ob sich Rand- und Baumartendiversitätseffekte zwischen verschiedenen Straten unterscheiden. Hierzu wurden entlang von zehn Transekten sowohl im Kronenraum als auch unmittelbar über dem Boden Kreuzfensterfallen installiert. In einem Zeitraum von sieben Monaten (April bis November 2012) wurde dadurch die fliegende Käferfauna erfasst. Randeffekte auf Käfer wurden bis zu einer Distanz von 500 m vom Waldrand hin nachgewiesen. Im Kronenraum waren die Randeffekte schwächer ausgeprägt als im Unterholz, vermutlich durch eine höhere „randähnliche“ mikroklimatische Variabilität im Kronenraum. Die Gesamtartenzahl der Käfer nahm mit zunehmender Distanz zum Waldrand ab. Dieses Muster wurde vor allem durch die Habitatgeneralisten getrieben, wohingegen die Artenzahl der Waldarten und der xylobionten Arten kaum auf die Randnähe reagierten. Eine Beeinflussung des Randeffekts durch Baumartenvielfalt konnte nicht gezeigt werden. Habitatgeneralisten und nicht-xylobionte Arten dominierten die Käfergemeinschaft im Unterholz. Im Kronenraum wurden die höchsten Artenzahlen von Waldarten und xylobionten Arten nachgewiesen. Baumartendiversität wirkte sich über alle Straten und ökologischen Gruppen positiv auf die Artenvielfalt der Käfer aus. Besonders ausgeprägt war dieser Effekt im Kronenraum. Die Haupteinflussfaktoren, die den Käferartenreichtum steuerten, unterschieden sich also zwischen den Straten. So waren im Kronenraum Baumartenvielfalt, die Totholzmenge und zu einem geringen Teil der Kronenschluss die entscheidenden Faktoren. Im Unterholz hingegen war der Einfluss der Baumartenvielfalt geringer und die Distanz zum Waldrand und der Kronenschluss besonders wichtig. Insgesamt waren die Effekte von Baumartenvielfalt im Unterholz indirekter und im Kronenraum direkter. Um Konsequenzen von Waldfragmentierung umfangreich zu verstehen, ist es nicht nur notwendig den Einfluss von Randeffekten, Baumartenvielfalt und Straten zu berücksichtigen, sondern auch die Eigenschaften (z. B. Körpergröße) und die Habitataffinität der beobachteten Arten. Diese Arbeit zeigt, dass eine erhöhte Baumartenvielfalt in zentraleuropäischen Wäldern zum Erhalt der Biodiversität von Pflanzen und Arthropoden beitragen kann. Das allein ist jedoch nicht ausreichend, da auch gezeigt wurde, dass einzelne Arten buchendominierte Wälder bevorzugen und es Unterschiede in der Artenzusammensetzung zwischen den verschiedenen Baumartendiversitätsstufen gibt. Dies hebt die Bedeutung des Erhalts alter Buchenwälder, verankert in den UNESCO-Welterbeflächen „Buchenurwälder in den Karpaten und alte Buchenwälder in Deutschland“, als besondere Schutzaufgabe hervor.