Weberknechte (Arachnida, Opiliones) einer Waldbrandfläche im Odenwald

In 1995 a fire in a pine forest in the Odenwald (Baden-Württemberg) in South-West Germany burned for about one day. In the subsequent years after the fire the resettlement of the burned pine forest by harvestmen was observed. A neighbouring spruce thickening and a beech forest were chosen as reference points. As early as the third year after the fire the harvestmen communities of the burned pine forest and the other forests resembled each other very strongly. However the communities of the burned pine forest and spruce thickening were more similar than those of the burned pine forest and beech forest. The occurence of hygrophilous species on the open burned pine forest is explained by waterthawing processes and lower evaporation.