Compact vs. Linear: Effects of Forest Structure, Patch Shape and Landscape Configuration on Black Alder Macromoth Communities

Landscape configuration and forest structure assume an increasing importance as determinants of animal communities. This paper focused on nocturnal Lepidoptera inhabiting alder patches in the Sila National Park, Italy. According to their shapes, were divided into linear compact ones disentangle roles landscape determining composition Lepidopteran communities at different observation scales. We used Mann–Whitney test for medians Shannon diversity, equitability, Fisher’s alpha, nestedness differences among moth found that inhabited richer more abundant The abundance-based Correspondence Analysis showed clustered according woodlot shape, except a with linear-like community because it was entirely surrounded by grasslands. Percentage forested area abundance positively correlated 50 200 m buffers, while correlations absent smaller larger buffers. Our results demonstrated width may not be sufficient give proper functionality wooded area, least moths. As consequence, planning restorations should consider structural habitat continuity