ABSTRACT

Separating the influence of climate and habitat characteristics on forest communities could help better understand their potential sensitivity to environmental change. In this study, we sampled spiders and beetles in similar forest types, located along a ca. 4°C mean annual temperature spatial gradient in the boreal forest zone in Quebec, Canada. Specifically, we aimed to separate the effect on arthropod communities of two habitat-related factors that can be influenced by forest management (stand composition and stand age), and another one that cannot (climate). Overall, spider assemblages tended to be more abundant and species-rich in younger forest stands, while beetle assemblages were more abundant and species-rich in deciduous forest stands. Eight beetle and six spider species were significantly influenced by climate, independently from forest type, whereas 11 beetle and seven spider species were significantly influenced by both forest type and climate. While most of the beetle species affected by climate were associated with warmer locations, several spider species were more abundant in colder locations. By helping to ensure the retention of key forest types along potential dispersal pathways at the landscape level, forest management activities could help the conservation of species belonging to relatively cryptic taxa such as arthropods in a climate change context.

摘要

区分气候和栖息地特征对森林群落的影响有助于更好地了解它们对环境变化的潜在敏感性。在这项研究中，我们在类似森林类型中对蜘蛛和甲虫进行了采样，这些森林类型位于约 加拿大魁北克北方森林区年平均温度空间梯度为 4°C。具体而言，我们旨在区分可能受森林管理影响的两种栖息地相关因素（林分组成和林分年龄）和另一种不会（气候）对节肢动物群落的影响。总体而言，年轻林分中的蜘蛛组合往往更丰富且物种丰富，而落叶林中的甲虫组合更丰富且物种丰富。八种甲虫和六种蜘蛛受气候影响显着，独立于森林类型，而 11 种甲虫和 7 种蜘蛛受森林类型和气候的显着影响。虽然大多数受气候影响的甲虫物种与温暖的地方有关，但一些蜘蛛物种在寒冷的地方更为丰富。通过在景观层面帮助确保沿潜在传播途径保留关键森林类型，森林管理活动可以帮助保护属于相对隐秘类群的物种，如气候变化背景下的节肢动物。