Evaluating conservation value and insect biodiversity within the Ya'nienhonhndeh territory of the Huron-Wendat Nation

Ya'nienhonhndeh地区是魁北克最后一片完整的森林之一，从未被商业砍伐过。该地区位于休伦-温达特民族的传统领土上，因此可以作为一个重要的生态基准，监测向更严格管理的森林过渡的更大影响，以及干扰制度的变化，如云杉budworm等落叶昆虫的爆发。雅尼洪德赫地区还可能拥有生物多样性和重要的栖息地，这些栖息地是由几个世纪的自然扰动动态形成的。在与Nionwentsïo局和加拿大林业局的合作中，我们将比较以下三种林分中森林昆虫种类组合的差异：1)严重的云杉幼虫损害，死亡率高；2)较小的云杉幼虫损害，许多大直径的树木仍然存在；3)Ya'nienhonhndeh周围的砍伐后再生的林分。我们将特别关注两类昆虫：一类是攻击落叶昆虫的多面虫，另一类是与大直径枯木等生态遗产有关的腐木虫。我们将使用多种诱捕技术对这些昆虫进行取样，包括飞行拦截陷阱、萎靡型陷阱、粘卡和放置在现有枯木上的紧急陷阱。所有标本将被识别为物种，并将使用广义线性混合模型和多元回归树进行比较。我们假设，由于遗留栖息地的存在和相对新鲜的立木的涌入，物种丰富度将在budworm损害较轻的林分中最大。我们预计，由于缺乏新鲜的枯木，严重受损的林分将会有更少的腐木虫。我们预计，在Ya'nienhonhndeh的两种林分类型中，昆虫类群的丰度和丰富度都高于砍伐后再生的林分。随着加拿大森林开发的持续扩大和气候变化的持续影响的积累，Ya'nienhonhndeh内生物多样性的比较将成为保护和现实森林管理目标的关键参考点。

The Ya'nienhonhndeh region is among the last intact forest in Quebec and has never been commercially logged. This region, located on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat Nation, thus serves as a critical ecological benchmark for monitoring larger effects of the transition to more intensely managed forests as well changes in disturbance regimes such as outbreaks of defoliating insects like the spruce budworm. The Ya'nienhonhndeh region may also harbor biodiversity and critical habitats that have been shaped by centuries of natural disturbance dynamics. In this collaboration with the Bureau de Nionwentsïo and the Canadian Forest Service, we will compare differences in species assemblages of forest insects in stands the have regenerated following 1) severe spruce budworm damage with extensive mortality, 2) lighter spruce budworm damage where many large diameter, legacy trees remain and 3) stands which have regenerated from clearcutting which surround the Ya'nienhonhndeh. We will focus specifically on two insect groups: generalist parasitoids which attack defoliating insects and saproxylic insects that are linked to ecological legacies such as large diameter deadwood. We will sample these insects using multiple trapping techniques including flight intercept traps, malaise-type traps, sticky cards and emergence traps placed over existing deadwood. All specimens will be identified to species and will be compared using both generalized linear mixed models and multivariate regression trees. We hypothesize that species richness will be greatest in stands with lighter budworm damage related to the combined presence of legacy habitats and an influx of relatively fresh deadwood from standing trees. We anticipate the severely damaged stands will harbor fewer saproxylic insects in part due a lack of fresh deadwood. We expect both stand types in the Ya'nienhonhndeh will have greater abundance and richness of both insect groups than stands regenerating from clearcuts. As exploitation of Canadian forests continues to expand and continued impacts from climate change accumulate, biodiversity comparisons within the Ya'nienhonhndeh will be a critical reference point for conservation and realistic forest management targets.