Abundance, species diversity, and community structure of Collembola in successional coastal temperate forests on Vancouver Island, CanadaIntroductionMaterials and methodsStudy sitesExperimental design and samplingMethodsData analysesResultsAbundance and species diversity of Collembola of the forest floor (LFH layer)Abundance and species diversity of Collembola of needle litterbagsAbundance and species diversity of Collembola of the wood chip litterbagsCollembolan species related to stand ageCollembolan community analysesDiscussionChanges in collembolan abundance, diversity, and community structure in relation to stand ageAnnual variability in measurements of collembolan abundance and species diversityCollembolan species or communities indicative of old-growth conditionsFactors threatening the integrity of forest soil invertebrate communitiesConclusionsAcknowledgementsList of Collembola species: class CollembolaReferencesApplied Soil Ecology 24 (2003) 233–246Abundance, species diversity, and community structure ofCollembola in successional coastal temperate forests onVancouver Island, CanadaJ.A. Addisona,∗, J.A. Trofymowb, V.G. MarshallaaScience, Technology and Environment Division, Royal Roads University, 2005 Sooke Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V9B 5Y2bNatural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8Z 1M5Received 26 November 2002; accepted 30 May 2003AbstractThe ecological implications of the conversion of old-growth temperate rainforests to managed forests have generated muchdiscussion worldwide. This paper examines the effects of such a conversion on different aspects of the biodiversity of thesoil collembolan fauna, and attempts to determine the time that will be required for the collembolan fauna to approach theabundance and community structure seen in old-growth forests. The study also investigates the potential of using differentmeasures of species diversity and community structure as indicators of old-growth conditions in forest soils. The study wascarried out in three chronosequence sites in Douglas-fir dominated stands on the dry leeward eastern side of Vancouver Island,BC, Canada. Each of the three sites contained stands representing four stages of stand development: regeneration (7–9 years),immature (35–46 years), mature (80–102 years) and old-growth (>248 years). The Collembola were extracted from litterbagscontaining needle litter or wood chips, and from the forest floor (LFH) layer in the late autumn of four successive years.Overall abundance of Collembola was highest in the old-growth and lowest in the regeneration stands. Although populationnumbers in the immature and mature forests were significantly higher than in regeneration stands, they still had not achievedthe levels observed in old-growth forests. In the forest floor, species richness was low in regeneration stands compared tolater stages of stand development, but did not differ significantly among immature, mature and old-growth stands. Measuresof species diversity based on Shannon’s and Simpson’s indices of diversity did not differ significantly according to the stageof stand development.It was not possible to distinguish individual collembolan species that could be used as indicators of old-growth conditions.The same species occurred in most or all stand ages, with differences being determined by changes in relative and absoluteabundance of the species comprising the community. However, principal component analysis of data on the Collembola ofneedle litterbags and the LFH layer showed that the collembolan community of the regeneration stands could be clearlydifferentiated from those of the forested stands. In addition, the collembolan communities of 80–102-year-old forests couldstill be distinguished from those of the old-growth forests. In contrast, the collembolan fauna of decomposing wood chipswas very similar in all stand ages, with the exception of the regeneration stands.© 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Keywords: Collembola; Biodiversity; Community structure; Forestry practices; Old-growth forests∗Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-250-391-2585; fax: +1-250-391-2560.E-mail address: [email protected] (J.A. Addison).0929-1393/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/S0929-1393(03)00090-8234 J.A. Addison et al. /Applied Soil Ecology 24 (2003) 233–2461. IntroductionOld-growth forests of the north Pacific coast ofNorth America are renowned for their diversity, rich-ness, and longevity. They furnish a wide variety oftimber resources, and in addition, are increasingly ap-preciated for non-timber values such as recreation,ecotourism, edible mushrooms, and also for profoundspiritual values. Although many of the concerns re-garding the conversion of old-growth to second growthforests are based on social considerations (van Kootenand Bulte, 1999), serious scientific concerns regardingthe long-term environmental effects of the conversionhave also been raised, particularly with regard to ef-fects on biodiversity, erosion of nutrient capital, andchanges in the carbon balance (Maser, 1990; Kimmins,1995; Trofymow et al., 1997).Much of the biodiversity of forest ecosystems re-sides in the soil (Behan-Pelletier and Newton, 1999),and the importance of the biodiversity of the soilbiota to the integrity and functioning of terrestrialecosystems, is well recognised (Pankhurst, 1997;Behan-Pelletier and Newton, 1999; Wall, 1999). In-deed, several researchers (e.g. reviews by Lindenet al., 1994; van Straalen, 1997, 1998) have suggestedthat soil arthropod communities have potential fordevelopment as biological indicators of soil health.Unfortunately, particularly in North America, weknow only a little about what organisms are presentin forest soils, especially at the species level. Weknow even less about how they respond to differentforest management practices (Marshall, 1993; Perry,1998). Thus we cannot say how forestry practicesare likely to affect soil biodiversity or the long-termsustainability of the soil.Collembola were chosen for detailed study sincethey are extremely abundant in forest soils (Marshall,1993) and are one of the few soil groups for whichcomprehensive keys are available in Canada, allowingidentifications to be made at species level.The present study is part of a larger chronosequenceproject, designed to study the effects of convertingold-growth to second growth