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Bryophytes. |
Image: Belinda Browning |
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Project summary:
Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) are significant components of forest ecosystems worldwide, contributing greatly to biodiversity, forest structure and ecosystem function. Bryophytes occur on a range of substrates and are known to be particularly abundant on coarse woody debris (CWD) which comprises decaying logs and branches. This study is the first to assess bryophyte succession on CWD following clearfell, burn and sow (CBS) treatment in wet eucalypt forests. CBS has been the accepted regeneration technique for Tasmanian wet eucalypt forests; however there is no detailed information about the regeneration sequence of bryophyte species on CWD following the CBS treatment. There is concern that short rotation cycles may provide insufficient time for bryophyte communities to reach a stage where there is no further accumulation of species; short rotation times could also have an impact on bryophyte species diversity on CWD over several cycles. No studies have been conducted that examine the relationship between bryophyte succession on CWD and forest management, specifically the resulting succession on CWD following clearfell, burn and sow.
This research aims to: 1. document bryophyte successional patterns on CWD following clearfell, burn and sow; 2. assess how forest age and/or CWD decay class affects bryophyte community succession; and 3. determine what macro- and micro- environmental variables are associated with bryophyte community succession on CWD. This study will further develop understanding of forest processes and the complexity of relationships between significant forest components, part of the knowledge base underpinning effective forest management.
Methodology: The study will use the forest successional chronosequence created by clearfelling in southern Tasmania, which contains annual cohorts for the last 45 years. This will involve surveys of bryophyte communities growing on logs arising from the clearfelling process across this chronosequence. The study will use a regression-type approach across ages to assess temporal trends. Both diversity and composition will be analysed. Multiple logs will be surveyed to represent a range of microsites within each forest area. Sites will be carefully chosen from east of Warra, an area of ongoing research into the impacts of forestry activity.
Datasets: None available.
Publications: Browning, B.J., Jordan, G.J., Dalton, P.J., Grove, S.J., Wardlaw, T.J. & Turner, P.A.T. (2010). Succession of mosses, liverworts and ferns on coarse woody debris, in relation to forest age and log decay in Tasmanian wet eucalypt forest. Forest Ecology and Management 260: 1896-1905.
Grove, S.J. (2009). A decade of deadwoodology at Warra. The Tasmanian Naturalist 131: 25-35.
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