The maintenance of downed woody debris supplies is increasingly being recognized as an integral part of forest management. In order to better manage this resource, it is important to assess its role in supporting biodiversity. In this thesis, I investigate the responses of carabid communities to variation in woody debris availability in an experimental manipulation of woody debris volume in closed canopy forests and following a biomass harvest in a clearcut. Within closed-canopy forests, total carabid abundance and the abundances of eight species increased significantly with increasing volumes of various types of woody debris, particularly large diameter, late-decay conifer wood. Similarly, a strong affinity with woody debris was observed in the clearcut. These findings suggest that reductions in woody debris will have negative consequences for carabids and indicate the need to ensure a diverse and abundant supply of woody debris during stand development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/35663 |
| Date | 16 July 2013 |
| Creators | Piascik, Paul |
| Contributors | Malcolm, Jay R., Smith, Sandy |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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