Tracking the Recovery of Forest Moth Community Composition (Lepidoptera) Following Small-Scale Logging in Oak Hardwood Forest Stands

A common measure of ecosystem resilience is the time course to recovery for a system that has been previously disturbed. The goal of this study was to assess whether forest lepidopteran communities displayed resilience to varying levels of timber harvest and, if so, how the time course to recovery differed among harvest regimes. Lepidoptera were sampled from 11 forest stands managed with one of three harvest treatments: no logging, shelterwood harvests, and group selection (patch cuts). Moths were sampled from all forest stands 1 y prior to harvest in 2007 and postharvest from 2009 to 2021. We use data from 2007, 2009, 2020, and 2021 to assess recovery transients across harvest levels. In the short term, moth species richness was reduced in all stand types, with the largest loss of species being in the most intensively managed stands. Recovery of species richness was varied based on harvest level. Community composition among managed and control forest stands recovered at different rates, with the most heavily logged stands requiring nearly 15 y to approach the preharvest species composition. Species that were isolated to samples in relatively few years or sampled at low abundances preharvest were seldom present within forest lepidopteran assemblages at the end of this study. Our results suggest that forest lepidopteran communities can recover from timber harvest in moderate time courses, even when the level of harvest approaches 80% of the standing bole. Persistence of the very diverse oak-feeding moth guild, however, will likely require ongoing management to sustain oak recruitment to the canopy.