The ecological importance of deadwood is widely acknowledged, however popular forestry practices may reduce deadwood from a site, and most European forests now fall below recommended targets, putting deadwood-associated species at risk. There is increasing evidence that earthworm species which live in alternative habitats such as deadwood can be missed by traditional sampling methods, which can lead to false classifications regarding species distributions and conservation status and value. Resolving the current lack of a systematic and quantitative methodology for surveying earthworms in microhabitats such as deadwood may therefore lead to valuable insights into earthworm species ecologies in forest ecosystems. The main aim of this research was to develop and trial a systematic method for surveying deadwood-associated earthworms, with potential future application to other invertebrates. Sampling of earthworms within soil, deadwood and soil beneath deadwood was carried out across a chronosequence of unmanaged oak forest stands. The results were then used to investigate the influence of soil and deadwood environmental factors and woodland age on the earthworm populations of oak-dominated broadleaf woodlands. Results from our surveys successfully show that in oak woodland habitats with deadwood, omitting deadwood microhabitats from earthworm sampling can lead to underestimates of total earthworm species richness, abundance and biomass. We also found a significantly greater proportion of juveniles within the earthworm communities of broadleaf deadwood, where temperature and moisture conditions were more favourable than surrounding open soil habitats. The systematic method presented should be considered as additional and complementary to traditional sampling protocols, to provide a realistic estimate of earthworm populations in woodland systems. Adopting this quantitative approach to surveying the biodiversity value of deadwood may enable forest management practices to more effectively balance wood production against ecological and conservation values. Opportunities for further development of the sampling methodology are proposed.

中文翻译：

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开发一种针对枯木及其周围earth的系统采样方法

枯木的生态重要性已得到广泛认可，但是流行的林业实践可能会减少某个地点的枯木，并且现在大多数欧洲森林都低于建议的目标，使与枯木相关的物种处于危险之中。越来越多的证据表明，传统采样方法可能会漏掉生活在枯木等替代生境中的earth物种，这可能导致有关物种分布，保护状况和价值的错误分类。解决目前缺乏一种系统和定量的方法来调查诸如枯木等微生境中的may可能会导致对森林生态系统中earth物种生态学的宝贵见解。这项研究的主要目的是开发和试验一种用于调查与枯木相关的earth的系统方法，将来可能会应用于其他无脊椎动物。在未经管理的橡树林林中按时间顺序对土壤，枯木和枯木下的土壤中的amp进行采样。然后将结果用于调查土壤和沉木环境因素以及林地年龄对以橡木为主的阔叶林地worm种群的影响。我们的调查结果成功地表明，在有枯木的橡树林地栖息地中，从worm采样中省略掉枯木微生境可能会导致低估of的总物种丰富度，丰度和生物量。我们还发现，阔叶枯木dead群落中的少年比例明显更高，那里的温度和湿度条件比周围的空旷土壤生境更有利。所介绍的系统方法应被视为对传统采样协议的补充和补充，以提供对林地系统中worm种群的现实估计。采用这种定量方法调查枯木的生物多样性价值可能使森林管理实践能够更有效地平衡木材产量与生态价值和保护价值。提出了进一步发展抽样方法的机会。采用这种定量方法调查枯木的生物多样性价值可能使森林管理实践能够更有效地平衡木材产量与生态价值和保护价值。提出了进一步发展抽样方法的机会。采用这种定量方法调查枯木的生物多样性价值可能使森林管理实践能够更有效地平衡木材产量与生态价值和保护价值。提出了进一步发展抽样方法的机会。