Legacy of traditional forest management: The impact of historical charcoal burning on soil biodiversity after centuries

Abstract

European forests have been influenced by human interventions for millennia. Many formerly traditional forest management practices have been lost due to changes in technology and attitudes. One commonly used practice was charcoal burning, remnants of which have remained in the forests for hundreds of years. We aimed to evaluate the differences between abandoned remnants of charcoal mounds and their surroundings in terms of soil-dwelling fauna and to compare them with old-growth forests in reserves of the Czech Republic. Our primary focus was on four macroarthropod taxa: centipedes, millipedes, terrestrial woodlice and symphylans. We discovered that charcoal mounds did not significantly differ from control forest patches regarding species richness and rigidity but varied in species composition and functional traits. In comparison, forest reserves were significantly richer in species, hosted less adaptable taxa, higher functional traits and exhibited different species compositions with the same number of shared species with charcoal mounds and controls. We found that the addition of charcoal residuals from traditional forest management can enrich pedobiodiversity – old, abandoned charcoal mounds within forests can enhance the biodiversity of relatively species-poor soils. Nevertheless, these residuals cannot match the biodiversity found in undisturbed old-growth forests. However, stand-scale biochar application in plantation forests could be a promising biodiversity strategy that mimics this traditional forest management practice.