Terrestrial gastropods are important decomposers, herbivores, and prey items in forest systems and constitute a poorly understood element of forest biodiversity in Canada. I studied gastropod assemblages in relation to forest cover type and in response to variable retention harvesting in the mixedwood boreal forest of northwestern Alberta. Gastropods were sampled using two methods: board traps and collection of litter samples. Gastropod assemblages were influenced by canopy composition, with most gastropods of the mixedwood showing a strong affinity for broadleaf dominated forests. Tree species mixture influenced gastropod distribution; basal tree area of either conifer or broadleaf trees was generally associated with gastropod distribution within a stand. Harvesting was clearly associated with increased abundance of many species 9 years post-harvest, however, abundance declined for other species. Harvesting with retention helps to maintain pre-harvest boreal gastropod assemblages and will likely conserve boreal gastropod assemblages if used as a tool for biodiversity management. / Conservation Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:AEU.10048/1396 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Abele, Suzanne E |
| Contributors | Macdonald, Ellen (Renewable Resources), Spence, John (Renewable Resources), Volney, Winston (Renewable Resources), Proctor, Heather (Biological Sciences) |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 5724742 bytes, application/pdf |
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