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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Cathryn H. Greenberg, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville, NC; Christopher E. Moorman, Charlotte E. Matthews-Snoberger – Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Thomas A. Waldrop (retired), USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson, SC; Dean Simon (retired), North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission; Amanda Heh, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh; Donald Hagan, Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University
ABSTRACT: Prescribed fire is commonly used in hardwood forests for fuel reduction, forest restoration, and wildlife habitat improvement. Yet, major physiological and life history differences among wildlife taxa indicate they should respond differently to management activities; improved habitat for some taxa could be detrimental to others. We experimentally assessed how reptiles and amphibians responded to untreated controls (C) and 3 repeated fuel reduction treatments (n=3; 2003-2016): (1) mechanical understory removal (twice) (M); (2) dormant-season prescribed burning (4 times) (B); or (3) mechanical understory removal followed a year later by a high-severity prescribed burn and 3 subsequent burns (MB). Initial burns were much hotter in MB than B because of cut fuels left in place for a year prior to burning, resulting in heavy tree mortality and increased canopy openness within 2 growing seasons post-burn. Total amphibians, total salamanders, total anurans, and the 4 amphibian species tested, were not affected by any fuel reduction treatment. Total reptiles and lizards were more abundant in MB. Plestiodon fasciatus were more abundant in MB than B or C, and Scleroporus undulatus were more abundant in M and B than C. Abundance of juvenile S. undulatus was greater in MB and increased over time, indicating that high-severity burning followed by repeated burns may improve conditions for successful S. undulatus recruitment. Different responses among species highlights the importance of including multiple taxa when assessing impacts of forest disturbances on wildlife, and gives perspective on how forest “health” may vary depending on target taxa.
Monday October 30, 2017 4:40pm - 5:00pm EDT
Carroll Ford