Group selection harvesting supports diversity of forest specialist epigaeic arthropods (Coleoptera: Carabidae; Arachnida: Araneae; Isopoda: Oniscidae)

Background and purpose Timber-oriented forest management alters the environmental conditions, threatening the survival of many native and rare arthropod species. Recognition of the scale and effects of the forest loss has resulted in a considerable degree of interest in the reforestation. Nowadays, the uneven-aged management is recommended during the reforestation procedure, because this is less intensive and could be less harmful than even-aged practices. Our aim was to test the effects of clear-cutting (as even-aged method) and group selection harvesting (as uneven-aged method) on forest specialist epigaeic arthropods. Material and methods Epigaeic arthropod assemblages (ground beetles, spiders and woodlice) in gaps harvested by group selection and clear-cuts were compared to those assemblages in windthrow gaps and mature forest stands. Ground beetles, spiders and woodlice were collected by litter sifting. Results The total number of epigaeic arthropod species was significantly higher in the gaps harvested by group selection than in the clear-cuts and the mature forests. The species richness of forest specialist species was significantly lower in the clear-cuts than in the other habitats. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that the conventional clearcutting caused a decrease in the number of forest specialist species. Therefore, group selection method should be favoured during forest management to maintain forest arthropods's diversity.