Species Trait Selection Along a Prescribed Fire Chronosequence
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Insect Conservation and Diversity (2016) 9, 446–455 doi: 10.1111/icad.12182 Species trait selection along a prescribed fire chronosequence TESSA BARGMANN,1,2 EINAR HEEGAARD,3 BJØRN ARILD HATTELAND,1,4 JOSEPH DANIEL CHIPPERFIELD1 and JOHN-ARVID 1 GRYTNES 1Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 2Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 3Forestry and Forest Resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, As, Norway and 4Division for Biotechnology and Plant Health, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Lofthus, Norway Abstract. 1. Fire is a widespread management practice used in the maintenance of European heathland. Frequent prescribed burns in small patches have been shown to benefit carabid communities; however, how fire favours specific life- history traits is poorly understood. 2. In this study, we identify characteristic species of the successional stages within heathlands, and find the traits which are characteristic of species in burnt areas versus areas dominated by older heath stands. 3. We identify 10 species as indicator species for heathland in the pioneer stage (0–5 years old); Amara lunicollis, Bembidion lampros, Calathus fuscipes, Carabus problematicus, Cicindela campestris, Nebria salina, Notiophilus aquati- cus, Poecilus cupreus, P. lepidus and P. versicolor. Dyschirius globosus is identi- fied as an indicator for the building stage (6–14 years old), and Carabus violaceus as an indicator for the mature stage (15–25 years old). 4. Moisture preference and diet are identified as traits that determine species response to prescribed fire. Collembolan specialists and species with no moisture preference are shown to be most abundant in burnt patches, whereas generalist predators and species with a high moisture preference are less tolerant of fire. 5. Knowledge of species sorting along a prescribed fire gradient can provide valuable information for heathland conservation. Key words. Carabidae, coastal heathland, community assembly via trait selec- tion, conservation management, ground beetle, indicator value, prescribed burn- ing, Succession. Introduction (Mallik & Gimingham, 1983). This can result in a more bio-diverse landscape, if fires are controlled in such a way The use of fire has a long history as a management tool that they create a mosaic of heath of different ages (Vand- in European heathlands (Mallik & Gimingham, 1983; vik et al., 2005; Bargmann et al., 2015). Due to its wide- Kaland, 1986; Webb, 1998). Primarily it has been used to spread usage and important role in determining plant and burn away older stands of heather, giving way to new, animal assemblages, the effects of prescribed burning are more nutritious vegetation for grazers. Fire also causes of considerable interest to heathland managers and scien- changes in floristic and faunistic compositions by tem- tists alike. porarily reducing the occurrence of dominant species There is extensive literature that focuses on the response of heathland plants to prescribed burning (e.g. Clement & Touffet, 1981; Mallik & Gimingham, 1983; Correspondence: Tessa Bargmann, Department of Geography, University of Bergen, Postbox 7802, 5020 Bergen, Norway. Maren & Vandvik, 2009; Velle & Vandvik, 2014), and E-mail: [email protected] a number of studies have focussed on insect responses 446 Ó 2016 The Authors. Insect Conservation and Diversity published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Species traits in coastal heathland 447 (e.g. Gardner & Usher, 1989; McFerran et al., 1995; areas (i.e. different heath types) rather than investigate the Bargmann et al., 2015; Brunbjerg et al., 2015). These effect of fire or successional stages within the same heath studies primarily focus on species diversity and abun- type. dance, as well as the successional dynamics after burning. As heathlands are of high conservation importance in Nevertheless, to be able to aid predictions for how species Europe (Usher & Thompson, 1993; Lindgaard & Henrik- traits are selected for by different environmental factors, sen, 2011; Kaland & Kvamme, 2013), and fire is a com- there has been an increased interest in trait-based mon management measure used for their conservation, it approaches, so that findings can be extended to areas out- is important to obtain more detailed knowledge about side the studied community (Lavorel & Garnier, 2002; how prescribed burning selects for individual species and Violle et al., 2007). These approaches have, for example species traits. This knowledge can have many practical been used to identify species traits in a wide range of spe- applications. For example it can be used to inform opti- cies, that are indicative of fragmentation (Driscoll & Weir, mal fire intervals, and to be able to quantify and predict 2005), land use change (Vandewalle et al., 2010), flooding how species assemblages may change with fire regime. (Lambeets et al., 2008) and other types of anthropogenic Knowledge of how species sorting of carabids occurs in disturbance (Carignan & Villard, 2002). Disturbance is an each successional stage could therefore provide valuable important determinant of life-history traits in disturbance information for heathland conservation. In this study, we prone environments (Southwood, 1977; Lytle, 2001; Rib- ask whether there are carabid species that are characteris- era et al., 2001; Lambeets et al., 2008). Indicator species tic of each successional stage across a 23-year fire analyses and trait-based approaches can therefore have chronosequence, and investigate whether there are pat- many practical applications in conservation, in the man- terns in occurrence of certain species traits along this fire agement of natural reserves (De Caceres et al., 2010), and gradient. in the monitoring of environmental disturbance (Carignan & Villard, 2002), by providing information about how species assemblages may change as a result of manage- Methods ment or natural and anthropogenic perturbations. Insects in particular have been considered good indica- Study area tors of ecosystem integrity (Dufr^ene & Legendre, 1997), because they tend to be more closely associated with abi- The study area is on the islands Lygra and Lurekalven otic factors such as soil characteristics and moisture levels (60°420N and 5°50E), about 40 km north of Bergen in (Usher, 1992; De Bruyn et al., 2001) than with biotic fac- western Norway (Fig. 1). The area has an oceanic climate tors (Schoener, 1986; Carignan & Villard, 2002). This with a mean June temperature of 12 °C, a mean January study focuses on carabid beetles, which are often used as temperature of 2 °C and a mean annual precipitation of indicator species, in part due to their well-known taxon- c. 1600 mm (www.met.no). Both islands have acidic, omy, habitat requirements and life-history characteristics nutrient-poor soil, and are dominated by Calluna heath, (Lovei€ & Sunderland, 1996; Rainio & Niemela,€ 2003; Koi- mires and mixed grass heaths, with some smaller patches vula, 2011; Kotze et al., 2011). Moreover, previous studies of forest (mainly Betula pubescens and Pinus sylvestris). have shown that carabid beetle distributions are driven Moist heath tends to occur on deep soils in poorly strongly by small-scale habitat and microclimate effects drained depressions or north-facing slopes, whereas dry (Gillingham et al., 2012). Although prescribed burns have heath occurs on shallow soils on ridges or south-facing been shown to benefit carabid communities in general slopes (Fremstad, 1997; Aarrestad & Vandvik, 2000). This (Gardner & Usher, 1989; Usher, 1992; Bargmann et al., heathland is a cultural landscape that has been managed 2015; Brunbjerg et al., 2015), it has been suggested that by different traditional heathland farming methods such further research should focus on the indicator potential of as grazing, burning and turf cutting. Without such a both rare and common species and specialist groups (see management regime, the area is expected to undergo sec- Kotze et al., 2011), as well as how successional stages ondary succession to forest, as is exemplified by neigh- favour specific life-history traits (Schirmel et al., 2012). A bouring islands. Prescribed burning, and grazing by sheep number of studies have used carabids as model organisms were reintroduced to both islands in 1992. The grazing to measure trait-environment interactions and trait sorting pressure on the islands of Lygra and Lurekalven is between habitats (e.g. Ribera et al., 2001; Schirmel et al., approximately one sheep per hectare (Velle, 2012), and is 2012, 2015; Duflot et al., 2014; Pakeman & Stockan, relatively equal on both islands. Grazing was constant 2014). They have demonstrated that carabid traits are over the study years. Burns are carried out in late winter linked to land use change (Ribera et al., 2001), habitat when the ground is frozen to avoid burning the soil. disturbance and hydrology (Gerisch, 2011), as well as plant traits (Pakeman & Stockan, 2014). Nevertheless, while there are studies that have investigated carabid Data collection traits and their indicator value for heathlands in general (e.g. Ribera et al., 2001; Schirmel et al., 2012; Borchard In 2012, we set a total of 180 250 ml plastic pitfall traps et al., 2014), they most often compare two or three study in 60 groups of