Metapopulation dynamics and future persistence of epiphytic cyanolichens in a European boreal forest ecosystem.

ABSTRACT: 1.: One approach to biodiversity conservation is to set aside small woodland key habitats (WKHs) in intensively managed landscapes. The aim is to support species, such as epiphytes, which often depend on old trees and are negatively affected by intensive forestry. However, it is not known whether the number of host trees within these areas can sustain species in the long term. 2.: We studied metapopulation dynamics and assessed the future persistence of epiphytes assuming host tree numbers similar to those observed in large north European WKHs. The study species were seven cyanolichens confined to Populus tremula in the boreal study area. Colonizations and extinctions were recorded in 2008 on trees that had been surveyed 13 years earlier. We applied generalized (non)linear models to test

SUBMITTER: Fedrowitz K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3380559 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature