Effects of reindeer grazing and recovery after cessation of grazing on the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in Finnish Lapland.

ABSTRACT: The effect of reindeer Rangifer tarandus L. grazing on the ground-dwelling spider assemblage in Northern Finland was studied. Changes in species richness, abundance and evenness of spider assemblages were analyzed in relation to changes in vegetation and environmental factors in long term grazed and ungrazed sites as well as sites that had recently switched from grazed to ungrazed and vice versa. Grazing was found to have a significant impact on height and biomass of lichens and other ground vegetation. However, it seemed not to have an impact on the total abundance of spiders. This is likely caused by opposing family and species level responses of spiders to the grazing regime. Lycosid numbers were highest in grazed and linyphiid numbers in ungrazed areas. Lycosidae species richnes

SUBMITTER: Saikkonen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6642629 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature