TY - JOUR

T1 - Communities of ground-living spiders in deciduous forests

T2 - Does tree species diversity matter?

AU - Schuldt, Andreas

AU - Fahrenholz, Nadine

AU - Brauns, Mascha

AU - Migge-Kleian, Sonja

AU - Platner, Christian

AU - Schaefer, Matthias

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements The study was part of a larger project of the Research Training Group ‘‘The role of biodiversity for biochemical cycles and biotic interactions in temperate deciduous forests’’, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). We thank the colleagues from the DFG Research Training Group 1086 supporting our studies with data, especially Karl-Maximilian Daenner, Anja Guckland and Andreas Mölder, and the administration of the Hainich National Park for their assistance.

PY - 2008/5

Y1 - 2008/5

N2 - The relationships between species diversity and ecosystem functions are in the focus of recent ecological research. However, until now the influence of species diversity on ecosystem processes such as decomposition or mineral cycling is not well understood. In deciduous forests, spiders are an integral part of the forest floor food web. In the present study, patterns of spider diversity and community structure are related to diversity of deciduous forest stands in the Hainich National Park (Thuringia). In 2005, pitfall trapping and quantitative forest floor sampling were conducted in nine plots of forest stands with one (Diversity Level 1), three (DL 2) and five (DL 3) major deciduous tree species. Species richness, measured with both methods, as well as spider abundance in forest floor samples were highest in stands with medium diversity (DL 2) and lowest in pure beech stands (DL 1). The Shannon-Wiener index and spider numbers in pitfall traps decreased from DL 1 to DL 3, while the Shannon-Wiener index in forest floor samples increased in the opposite direction. Spider community composition differed more strongly between single plots than between diversity levels. Altogether, no general relationship between increasing tree species diversity and patterns of diversity and abundance in spider communities was found. It appears that there is a strong influence of single tree species dominating a forest stand and modifying structural habitat characteristics such as litter depth and herb cover which are important for ground-living spiders.

AB - The relationships between species diversity and ecosystem functions are in the focus of recent ecological research. However, until now the influence of species diversity on ecosystem processes such as decomposition or mineral cycling is not well understood. In deciduous forests, spiders are an integral part of the forest floor food web. In the present study, patterns of spider diversity and community structure are related to diversity of deciduous forest stands in the Hainich National Park (Thuringia). In 2005, pitfall trapping and quantitative forest floor sampling were conducted in nine plots of forest stands with one (Diversity Level 1), three (DL 2) and five (DL 3) major deciduous tree species. Species richness, measured with both methods, as well as spider abundance in forest floor samples were highest in stands with medium diversity (DL 2) and lowest in pure beech stands (DL 1). The Shannon-Wiener index and spider numbers in pitfall traps decreased from DL 1 to DL 3, while the Shannon-Wiener index in forest floor samples increased in the opposite direction. Spider community composition differed more strongly between single plots than between diversity levels. Altogether, no general relationship between increasing tree species diversity and patterns of diversity and abundance in spider communities was found. It appears that there is a strong influence of single tree species dominating a forest stand and modifying structural habitat characteristics such as litter depth and herb cover which are important for ground-living spiders.

KW - Biology

KW - araneae

KW - Community structure

KW - deciduous forest

KW - Diversity

KW - spiders

KW - tree species

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=44149108942&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/ace34de2-2eef-35cb-a989-33d7b228f6b8/

U2 - 10.1007/s10531-008-9330-7

DO - 10.1007/s10531-008-9330-7

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 17

SP - 1267

EP - 1284

JO - Biodiversity and Conservation

JF - Biodiversity and Conservation

SN - 0960-3115

IS - 5

ER -