Biodiversity of plantation forests in Ireland - BIOFOREST PROJECT J. O’Halloran, T. Gittings, G Smith, M.Wilson, A. Oxbrough, S. O’Donoghue, L. French P. S Giller, S. Iremonger, J. Pithon, D.L. Kelly, F. Mitchell, T Kelly, P. Dowding, A. O’Sullivan, P. Neville

BIOFOREST Project §Financed by: NDP through EPA and COFORD §Large-Scale Project in the Environmental RTDI Programme for §Broad aim: to address some of the gaps that exist in the current understanding of biodiversity of commercial plantation forests in Ireland

Expertise of participants §UCC: Fauna l Invertebrate ecology (incl Hoverflies, Spiders, Moths ) l Birds §UCC: Mapping l Extensive GIS experience §TCD: Flora l Flowering plants, Ferns, Bryophytes, Lichens and Fungi §Coillte Teo: Forest management l Site inventory and GIS data l Liaison with industry

BIOFOREST Project Three sub-projects §Project Biodiversity assessment of afforestation sites §Project Assessment of biodiversity at different stages of the forest cycle §Project Investigation of experimental methods to enhance biodiversity in plantation forests.

BIOFOREST Field Sites

Afforestation Project A Three-pronged Approach Review pre-afforestation biodiversity assessment methodologies to draft a suitable methodology for afforestation sites in Ireland. Review current knowledge on the biodiversity of habitat types most usually used for planting to reinforce the choice of indicators of biodiversity in each habitat type. The outputs from two reviews, helped guide the ecological surveys conducted across a range of study sites.

What is the biodiversity of pre- afforestation sites? §Fieldwork 2002 – selected four broad habitat types l Wet grassland l Cut-over blanket bog l Improved grassland l Wet heath

Afforestation Project – Ecological Surveys §Inventory representative groups within the plant and animal communities of a range of representative sites prior to afforestation. §Identify useful indicators or predictors of biodiversity §Identify the main issues in long-term monitoring of potential forestry sites §Assess the changes over 2-5 years after planting

Preliminary analysis of plant metrics for sites

3.1.2 Growth Cycle Project – Main Objectives §Assess the range of biodiversity in representative forests at key stages of the forest cycle §Review and recommend opportunities for enhancement of biodiversity in plantation forests §Assess the efficacy of the Forest Service Guidelines for Forestry and Biodiversity

Growth Cycle Project - Methodological Approach §Study sites were selected for tree species dominance and growth stage, and covering as broad a geographical area as is practicable §Field data collected using standard survey methods on particular components of biodiversity, including specialists on dead wood, in relation to the forest cycle. §Identify appropriate indicators (either structural, compositional, functional) of plantation forest biodiversity

Growth Cycle Project - Forest types and age §Fieldwork 2001 & 2002 §Sitka forests: 5yr, thicket, mid-rotation, mature §Sitka-Ash forest: 5yr, thicket, mature §Ash forests: 5yr, thicket, mature §Sitka controls for the mature sitka-ash sites §Sites were clustered geographically

Data recorded §142 botanical quadrats from 39 sites: flora §65 malaise traps from 35 sites: syrphidae, lepidoptera §1575 pitfall samples x 3 sampling periods from 35 sites: spiders (possibly coleoptera) §4-9 bird point-counts for each of 40 sites, two visits to each site: total 380 data sets

Botanical data §224 vascular species §96 bryophyte species §Identification is completed §Suggestion from data that l thicket sites of mixed forest species supports greatest number of species, l mid-rotation sites impoverished l ash sites were richest in flowering plants l sitka sites were richest in bryophytes

Habitat associations of hoverflies in malaise samples from forest roads and sitka forest

Thicket SitkaThicket Mix Thicket Ash Mid-rotation Sitka Mature Sitka Mature MixMature Ash Effect of Age and Tree Species on Bird Communities in Irish Forestry

How can forest biodiversity be enhanced? Project §Open space and biodiversity §Objectives for BIOFOREST §Approaches used l Current use and FBG l BIOFOREST approach of this project field surveys experimental manipulations

Enhancement of biodiversity §Biodiversity and open space: §‘The treatment of open space is the single most important factor in the success or failure of nature conservation with plantations’ (Peterken 1996) §Current FBG recommend 15% open space and retained habitats in new plantations

Current practice Review of ABE designation in afforestation grant applications (n = 94): preliminary results Most ABEs not fully mapped or quantified Most frequently included habitats: §Aquatic buffer zones §Ridelines §Boundary/public road setback §Hedgerow (and setback) §Open space/retained habitat

Objectives §Determine the effects of different configurations of open space on biodiversity within forested areas §Determine the effects of experimental manipulations regarding open space in forests §Make recommendations as to how management practices can positively affect biodiversity in forests

Work programme includes: §Review and full analysis of grant applications to determine configuration of open space designated under FBG §Field surveys to examine the relationship between biodiversity and open space management §Experimental manipulations to test the observed relationships between biodiversity and open space management Groups studied will be mainly birds, hoverflies, spiders, higher and lower plants with a special emphasis among the plant groups on epiphytes

Field surveys §Total percentage of open space §Composition of open space (ridelines, retained open habitats, deer glades, firebreaks, etc.) §Distribution of open space §Management of open space Probably restricted to mid-rotation Sitka spruce

Experimental manipulations §Enlarging of existing open spaces §Creation of new open spaces Both of the above will establish a pattern of open spaces that can be monitored for a more prolonged period of time, to produce a solid dataset on the effects of open space management on forest biodiversity

Biodiversity Enhancement §How can you help? l Inform us of sites with interesting open space configurations l Information on typical open space management practices l Site maps and history for all and sites l Give us feedback on our approaches and their practical relevance

Project Website