The effect of forest clearcutting in Norway on the community of saproxylic beetles on aspen Original Research Article

In a study of the effect of forest clear-cutting on the saproxylic beetle fauna in aspen in Norwegian boreonemoral forest, we find that both sun exposure and substrate are important structuring factors for the community of saproxylic beetles. Even though the species number and abundance is rather similar across the gradient of sun exposure, there is a major turnover in species composition in decaying aspen from mature forest to clear-cuttings. Our results confirm that aspen is an important element for beetle biodiversity both because of a generally species-rich community and a high number of rare and threatened (red-listed) beetles. There is a higher probability of presence of red-listed beetle species in snags than in logs. Sun exposure increases the probability of presence of red-listed species, but this was largely an effect of one dominating species. We conclude that retention of trees when clear-cutting is an important means for safeguarding the fauna of saproxylic beetles in aspen.