Impacts of intensive forest biomass harvesting on biodiversity of litter Coleoptera

Description

The goal of this project is to examine short and long term effects of intensive forest biomass removal for bioenergy on ecosystem functioning. We will study the effects on soils, biodiversity and tree growth in an integrated manner, in order to understand the drivers of site productivity, site resilience and the interaction with biomass harvesting. This project investigates the impacts of different level of post-harvest slash removal on soil Coleoptera biodiversity.

Deliverables

Field trials were established in Montmorency Forest, Quebec, in 2011 and the experiment will continue for the next 4 years. It investigates a range of biomass removal treatments on species composition, abudance and community structure of soil Coleoptera and will detect indicator species for different tresholds. The data will be used to study the more immediate effects of a gradient of biomass harvesting intensities on soils, biodiversity and tree growth.

Partners

• Parre, Venier, L., Langor, D., Work, T (UQAM), Université Laval (field preparation)