PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 69: Forest Ecology IV: Communities.
Presiding: D Gavin
Thursday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, SITCC Meeting Room 200.

Microclimate conditions within two-age regeneration stands in the southern Appalachians and the effect on microarthropods.

Madson, Stephanie^*,1, Coleman, David¹, ¹ University of Georgia, Athens, GA

ABSTRACT- Soil microclimatic conditions within forest stands have been shown to determine if successful establishment of seedlings will occur, the decomposition rate of organic matter, or the composition of soil fauna communities. Changes in temperature and moisture have been shown to alter the abundance and distribution of microarthropods within the soil. We assessed the soil microclimatic conditions within microhabitats established by two-age regeneration treatments at Wine Spring Creek, North Carolina. We also correlated microclimatic conditions to soil microarthropod abundance within microhabitats. The majority of the microarthropod taxa showed the greatest response to harvesting when examined at the scale of microhabitats. The greatest fluctuation in temperature was in the skid rows. During the warmest period of the day, soil temperature was on average warmer in the skid rows and cooler at the base of coppices or shrubs. Skid rows had the greatest bulk density and the least amount of moisture. Microarthropod abundance was lowest in the skid rows and highest near the base of mature trees, coppices, and shrubs. Microclimatic conditions within microhabitats do have an effect on microarthropod community composition and abundance. Examining spatial patterns of microhabitat distribution and frequency across harvested stands may be a useful tool for elucidating treatment effects within the high natural heterogeneity of microarthropod communities in forest stands.

Key words: microclimate, Appalachians, forest regeneration, soil microarthropods