Purpose of the Review

The concept of tree-related microhabitats (TreMs) is an approach to assess and manage multi-taxon species richness in forest ecosystems. Owing to their provision of special habitat features, TreMs are of special interest as a surrogate biodiversity indicator. In particular, in retention forestry, TreMs have gained attention over the past decade as a selection criterion for retained structural elements such as habitat trees. This review seeks to (a) address the suitability of TreMs as biodiversity indicator in the context of retention forestry, (b) summarize drivers of TreM occurrence and the status quo of the implementation of TreM-based retention concepts in forest management, and (c) discuss current and future challenges to the use of TreMs as biodiversity indicator.

Recent Findings

The TreM concept originated in Europe where it is now increasingly implemented. Most studies of the quantity, quality, and diversity of TreMs are focused on tree species from this region, although it is increasingly applied in other contexts. In addition to tree species, tree dimensions and live status have been identified as the main drivers of TreM occurrence. One major remaining research challenge is to verify relationships between the occurrence and abundance of forest-dwelling species from different taxonomic groups and TreMs to improve the evidence basis of this concept and thus increase its integration in forest conservation approaches.

Summary

TreMs are not the “silver bullet” indicator to quantify biodiversity of forest dwelling species, but they provide an important tool for forest managers to guide the selection of habitat trees for the conservation of the associated biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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使用与树木有关的微生境作为森林生物多样性指标并指导森林综合管理

审查目的

与树木有关的微生境（TreMs）的概念是一种评估和管理森林生态系统中多分类群物种丰富度的方法。由于TreM具有特殊的栖息地特征，因此作为替代生物多样性指标特别受关注。尤其是在保留林中，TreM在过去十年中已成为人们关注的选择，以作为保留结构元素（例如生境树）的选择标准。这项审查旨在（a）探讨保留性林业背景下TreM作为生物多样性指标的适用性，（b）总结TreM发生的驱动因素以及在森林管理中实施基于TreM的保留概念的现状，以及（c ）讨论使用TreM作为生物多样性指标的当前和未来挑战。

最近的发现

TreM概念起源于欧洲，如今已得到越来越多的实施。关于TreM的数量，质量和多样性的大多数研究都集中在该地区的树种上，尽管在其他情况下越来越多地使用它。除树木种类外，树木尺寸和生活状况已被确定为TreM发生的主要驱动力。剩下的主要研究挑战是验证来自不同生物分类群和TreM的森林居住物种的发生与丰富之间的关系，以改善该概念的证据基础，从而增加其在森林保护方法中的整合。

概要

TreM不是量化森林居住物种生物多样性的“灵丹妙药”指标，但它们为森林管理者提供了重要工具，指导他们选择栖息地树木以保护相关的生物多样性。