The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of canopy openness and associated light conditions on epigeal spider assemblages in abandoned coppice forests in order to develop conservation recommendations for forest management in lowland woodlands. In particular, I studied the effect of canopy openness gradient on species richness, abundance, functional diversity, community composition, conservation value, and degree of rareness of spiders. There was established transects reflecting the canopy openness gradient in each of the eight forest stand. A total number of 90 spider species, including high proportions of xeric specialist and red-listed threatened species. The peaks of conservation indicators, as well as spider community abundance, were shifted toward more open canopies . On the other hand, functional diversity peaked at more closed canopies followed by a rapid decrease with increasing canopy openness. Species richness was highest in the middle of the canopy openness gradient, suggesting an ecotone effect. Ordinations revealed the rapid species turnover along canopy openness gradient with presence of most conservationally important species in sparse and open conditions. The results show that the various components of biodiversity peaked at different levels of canopy openness. Therefore, the restoration and suitable management of such conditions (e.g. conservation thinning, coppice management) will retain important diversification of habitats in lowland oak forests. According to these results, even small-scale activities supporting these conditions could be suitable conservation tools to slow down the general decline of woodland biodiversity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:362175 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Surovcová, Kamila |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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