Peck, J.E. & A. Moldenke. 1999. Describing and estimating the abundance of microinvertebrates in commercially harvestable moss. Report to the Eugene District Bureau of Land Management, Eugene, OR.
Microinvertebrates
were extracted using high gradient Berlese extraction from 200 harvestable moss
mats collected as part of a companion project to inventory commercially
harvestable moss during the summer of 1998 on the Eugene District, BLM, and an
AMA on the Sweet Home District, Willamette National Forest.
Twenty mats, ten from shrub bases and ten from shrub tips, were collected
from vine-maple (Acer circinatum Pursh) in each of 10 sites.
A total of 125 taxa were identified, comprising 18 orders and 5
functional groups; average counts of individuals per gram of moss are reported
for each taxon. No species of
critical concern were encountered. Species richness, individual counts, species
composition and relative abundance varied substantially among sites.
This variation was seen to correlate with the total abundance of shrubs
with moss and the presence of hardwood trees.
Species richness and total abundance was substantially higher in samples
collected from shrub bases; differences were found for both detrivore and
predator guilds. The number of individuals per gram was greater in base samples
than in tip samples for two orders (Coleoptera, Thysanoptera) and one functional group (detrivores), but was
lower in base samples for one order (spiders) and it’s associated functional
group (predators). Species
composition differed substantially among stem base and tip samples.
Mites, springtails, turtle-mites, wasps and bacterivores, fungivores, and
predators showed the greatest differences.
Characteristic taxa in base samples included: Ceratoppia
sp H, Hermannia, and Phthiracarus sp. B (all turtle-mites). Taxa typical of tip samples included: Micryphantidae
(microspiders) and Sminthurus (springtail).
Management recommendations based upon these preliminary data include
prohibiting moss harvest in mixed or hardwood dominated stands and from the
lower ½ m of all shrub stems to protect a diverse microinvertebrate community
that includes taxa characteristic of both epiphytic and epigeic habitats.