The foraging activity of bats in managed pine forests of different ages

• Published in: European journal of forest research Vol. 138; no. 3; pp. 383 - 396
• Main Authors: Węgiel, Andrzej, Grzywiński, Witold, Ciechanowski, Mateusz, Jaros, Radosław, Kalcounis-Rüppell, Matina, Kmiecik, Anna, Kmiecik, Paweł, Węgiel, Jolanta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Animal behavior; Bats; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Broadband; Chiroptera; Clearcutting; Coniferous forests; Forage; Foraging behavior; Foraging habitats; Forest management; Forest practices; Forestry; Habitats; Life Sciences; Middle age; Original Paper; Pine; Pine trees; Pinus sylvestris; Plant Ecology; Plant Sciences; Rare species; Threatened species; Ultrasound; Forest management; Commuting; Foraging; Chiroptera; Diversity
• ISSN: 1612-4669; 1612-4677
• DOI: 10.1007/s10342-019-01174-6

Temperate zone bats are associated with forests and affected by forest management practices. However, practices vary among regions and countries, and the relationship between bats and managed forest stands is not well understood. We compared the activity of bats in three forest management areas across four stand ages of managed Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) in western Poland. Stand ages included clear-cut stands, young (2–5 year) stands, middle-aged (41–60 year) stands, and mature (> 80 years) stands. We sampled bat activity by walking transects with a broadband ultrasound Pettersson D-1000X detector. Across our study area, highest bat activity was in clear-cut and young stands and lowest in mature stands. Bat species adapted to foraging in open habitats had high activity in clear and young stands, while those adapted to closed habitats had high activity in middle-aged and mature stands. Our results suggest that the presence of mature pine forests is important for closed-habitat foragers, including rare and threatened bat species, and active management to increase mature forest areas is important. At the same time, a mosaic of different growth stages of stands can support high activity of open- and edge-habitat foragers.