Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41786318›Full record

ArticleEcology letters2026

Forest Heterogeneity by Chain Saw: How Between-Patch Variation in Old Growth Attributes Changes the Metacommunities of Beetles.

Oliver Mitesser, Marc W Cadotte, Akira S Mori, Fons van der Plas, Anne Chao, Julia Rothacher, Claus Bässler, Mirjana Bevanda, Peter H W Biedermann, Pia Bradler and 19 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology letters, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

29 authors.

Oliver MitesserChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3607-877X
Marc W CadotteBiological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Akira S MoriResearch Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8422-1198
Fons van der PlasPlant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Anne ChaoInstitute of Statistics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4364-8101
Julia RothacherChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
Claus BässlerUniversity of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Mirjana BevandaEarth Observation Research Cluster, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Peter H W BiedermannForest Entomology and Forest Protection, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Pia BradlerInstitute of Ecology, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
Antonio Castañeda-GómezEarth Observation Research Cluster, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Orsi DeckerChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
Benjamin M DeloryEnvironmental Sciences Group, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1190-8060
Sebastian DittrichInstitute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany.
Heike FeldhaarUniversity of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Andreas FichtnerInstitute of Ecology, Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
Alexander KreisChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
Lisa Köstler-AlbertAnimal Population Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Ludwig LettenmaierChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
Goddert von OheimbInstitute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7408-425X
Luisa PflummEarth Observation Research Cluster, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Kerstin PierickSpatial Structures and Digitization of Forests/Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Jakob Schwalb-WillmannEarth Observation Research Cluster, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Simon ThornPhilipps Universität Marburg, Applied Ecology, Marburg, Germany.
Leah VogelfängerForest Zoology, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Tharandt, Germany.
Wolfgang WeisserTerrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany.
Martin WegmannEarth Observation Research Cluster, Department of Remote Sensing, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
Clara WildChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.
Jörg MüllerChair of Conservation Biology and Forest Ecology, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany.

Funding

Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten L062Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 459717468
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metacommunity theory has expanded our understanding of how spatial dynamics and local interactions influence species communities. Different assembly archetypes, reflecting different roles of species differences, habitat differences, and dispersal have been described, but we lack empirical studies specifically in terrestrial habitats testing which archetype is most important. In a replicated design, we experimentally enhanced structural between-patch heterogeneity in homogeneous production forests and developed a statistical framework controlling for sample incompleteness to detect different metacommunity processes. Meta-analyses on > 100 K individuals of > 1.3 K beetle species showed an increase of ~60 species in heterogenized forests at γ-level promoted by increasing α-diversity consistent with the mass-effect and an increase of β-diversity by ~10% supporting species-sorting. Additionally, we tested β-deviations from random assembly as a proxy of neutral processes. Findings indicate that enhancing structural heterogeneity can shift forests from patch-dynamics dominance towards mass-effect and species-sorting, offering a promising pathway to restore biodiversity in managed landscapes.

Indexed as

BiodiversityColeopteraForestsAnimalsModels, BiologicalPopulation Dynamicsbeetlescoleopteradiversitymetacommunity paradigmstemperate forests

Identifiers

PMID41786318
PMCPMC12962797

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.