Sandra Mueller ^1* Olaf Jahn ² Kirsten Jung ³ Oliver Mitesser ⁴ Christian Ammer ⁵ Stefan Böhm ^3,6 Martin Ehbrecht ⁵ Almo Farina ⁷ Swen C. Renner ⁸ Nadia Pieretti ⁹ Peter Schall ⁵ Marco Tschapka ^10,3 Konstans Wells ¹¹ Michael Scherer-Lorenzen ¹

• ¹ University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Geobotany, Schaenzlestr. 1, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany, Freiburg, Germany
• ² Naturwissenschaftliches Museum, Leibniz Institut für Evolutions und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• ³ Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
• ⁴ Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Glashüttenstrasse 5, 96181 Rauhenebrach, Germany, Rauhenebrach, Germany
• ⁵ Department Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
• ⁶ Other, 88131 Lindau (Bodensee), Germany
• ⁷ Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, School of Conservation and Restoration, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy
• ⁸ Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria
• ⁹ Other, Recanati, Italy
• ¹⁰ Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama), Panama City, Panama
• ¹¹ Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom

Introduction: In production forests, management can have cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Acoustic diversity reflects the diversity of vocalizing animals and has also considerable recreational value for human well-being, but the relationship between acoustic diversity and forest management remains largely unexplored Method: We recorded acoustic diversity on forest plots along a gradient of silvicultural management intensity (SMI) in three regions of Germany. We explored the diurnal and seasonal temporal dynamics in acoustic diversity index (ADI) from March to July using generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs). We further investigated the interrelation between acoustic diversity and silvicultural management intensity, forest structural diversity, as well as tree diversity, bird species richness and abundance using structural equation modeling (SEM).Results: Silvicultural management intensity had significant effects on the temporal dynamics of ADI in May and June from dawn till dusk, but variance explained by SMI was low. We confirmed our hypothesis that ADI was reduced by SMI due to its cascading effects on forest structural diversity and bird species richness and abundance.Discussion: Acoustic diversity indices can provide valuable insights into how forest management affects the acoustic activity of soniferous communities. We discuss how this can indicate both changes in species diversity as well as their vocal activity. We further address potential implications for forest management.