A three-year study of soil Collembola communities in spruce forest stands of the High Tatra Mts (Slovakia) after a catastrophic windthrow event

Soil Collembola communities were investigated in spruce forest stands of the High Tatra Mts that had been heavily damaged by a windstorm in November 2004. The study focused on the effect two different forest practices had on collembolan community distribution and structure in the three years after the windstorm. Three different treatments were selected for the study: intact forest stands (REF), clear-cut windthrown stands (EXT), and non-extracted windthrown stands (NEX), with each treatment having three study stands. From a total 6829 individuals, 65 species were identified. The highest Collembola abundance means were recorded in NEX stands, with the same parameter being lower in REF stands and the lowest in EXT stands. Although there was a significant increase in abundance over time observed in EXT stands, this increase in abundance over time was much higher in NEX stands. The ordination method used demonstrated a significant influence of both treatment and sampling date on the abundance of Collembola. The present study shows that clearing windthrown spruce forests following a catastrophic storm is less favourable for communities of soil collembolans and slow down the recovery process.

► Clearing of fallen wood caused a significant decrease of soil Collembola abundance.
► Clearing practices caused a temporary increase in Collembola diversity in windthrown stands.
► Removal of fallen wood slowed down the recovery process of collembolan communities.
► Unharvested windthrown stands were similar to intact forests in abundance and community structure.