scholarly journals Effects of prescribed fire and timber harvest on terrestrial salamander abundance, behavior, and microhabitat use

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Katherine M. O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Before And After

The goal of my dissertation was to assess how terrestrial salamanders respond to two common forest management practices -- prescribed fire and timber harvest. Previous studies have reported that timber harvest adversely affects terrestrial salamanders, but there is not enough information to draw conclusions about the effects of prescribed fire. It is important to understand how prescribed fire affects wildlife, as it is increasingly being used to decrease wildfire risk and restore fire-adapted ecosystems. However, many fire management decisions are currently based on predicted plant responses, since there is more data available on plants than wildlife. To estimate terrestrial salamander population size (abundance) prior to treatments, I conducted surveys for three years and used a statistical modeling approach that accounted for the tendency of terrestrial salamanders to be belowground and unavailable for surveys. I found that terrestrial salamander density at our Missouri Ozark study site ranged from 0.4 to 1.6 salamanders per square meter. I found that salamanders were most likely to be on the forest floor surface during or following rainfall, and that they were more likely to be in leaf litter than under cover objects if it had recently rained. Following timber harvest and prescribed fire, salamanders were less likely to be on the surface. It appears that terrestrial salamander abundance is more adversely affected by timber harvest than by prescribed fire. I also tracked individual salamanders before and after a prescribed burn, and found that they stayed belowground much more frequently in burned areas than non-burned areas. However, I did not find evidence of direct salamander mortality due to the fire. My results indicate that terrestrial salamanders respond to post-fire and post-harvest conditions by spending more time belowground to avoid increased physiological stress. Though it appears that terrestrial salamanders can generally avoid direct consequences of prescribed fire, behavioral responses to post-fire micro-environmental conditions could affect salamander populations in ways that are not yet apparent.

scholarly journals Using the Landsat Burned Area Products to Derive Fire History Relevant for Fire Management and Conservation in the State of Florida, Southeastern USA

Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Casey Teske ◽  
Melanie K. Vanderhoof ◽  
Todd J. Hawbaker ◽  
Joe Noble ◽  
John Kevin Hiers
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Behavior Modeling ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Burn Probability

Development of comprehensive spatially explicit fire occurrence data remains one of the most critical needs for fire managers globally, and especially for conservation across the southeastern United States. Not only are many endangered species and ecosystems in that region reliant on frequent fire, but fire risk analysis, prescribed fire planning, and fire behavior modeling are sensitive to fire history due to the long growing season and high vegetation productivity. Spatial data that map burned areas over time provide critical information for evaluating management successes. However, existing fire data have undocumented shortcomings that limit their use when detailing the effectiveness of fire management at state and regional scales. Here, we assessed information in existing fire datasets for Florida and the Landsat Burned Area products based on input from the fire management community. We considered the potential of different datasets to track the spatial extents of fires and derive fire history metrics (e.g., time since last burn, fire frequency, and seasonality). We found that burned areas generated by applying a 90% threshold to the Landsat burn probability product matched patterns recorded and observed by fire managers at three pilot areas. We then created fire history metrics for the entire state from the modified Landsat Burned Area product. Finally, to show their potential application for conservation management, we compared fire history metrics across ownerships for natural pinelands, where prescribed fire is frequently applied. Implications of this effort include increased awareness around conservation and fire management planning efforts and an extension of derivative products regionally or globally.

Short-term effects of timber harvest and forest edges on ground-layer mosses and liverworts

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 610-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara R Nelson ◽  
Charles B Halpern
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Ground Layer ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Logging Effects ◽  
Structural Retention

Limited information exists on the effects of forest management practices on bryophytes, despite their importance to forest ecosystems. We examined short-term responses of ground-layer bryophytes to logging disturbance and creation of edges in mature Pseudotsuga forests of western Washington (USA). The abundance and richness of species were measured in four 1-ha forest aggregates (patches of intact forest) and in surrounding logged areas before and after structural retention harvests. One year after treatment, species richness, total cover, and frequency of most moss and liverwort taxa declined within harvest areas. Within forest aggregates, mosses did not show significant edge effects; however, richness and abundance of liverworts declined with proximity to the aggregate edge. Our results suggest that, over short time frames, 1-ha-sized aggregates are sufficient to maintain most common mosses through structural retention harvests but are not large enough to prevent declines or losses of liverworts. Thus, current standards for structural retention, which allow for aggregates as small as 0.2 ha, may be inadequate to retain the diversity and abundance of species found in mature, undisturbed forests.Key words: bryophyte, edge effects, forest borders, forest management, logging effects, structural retention harvest.

scholarly journals A century of changing fire management alters ungulate forage in a wildfire-dominated landscape

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M Proffitt ◽  
Jesse DeVoe ◽  
Kristin Barker ◽  
Rebecca Durham ◽  
Teagan Hayes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Forage Quality ◽  
Wildfire Management ◽  
Winter Range ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Summer Range ◽  
Straightforward Approach

Abstract Forestry practices such as prescribed fire and wildfire management can modify the nutritional resources of ungulates across broad landscapes. To evaluate the influences of fire and forest management on ungulate nutrition, we measured and compared forage quality and abundance among a range of land cover types and fire histories within 3 elk ranges in Montana. We used historical fire data to assess fire-related variations in elk forage from 1900 to 2015. Fire affected summer forage more strongly than winter forage. Between 1900–1990 and 1990–2015, elk summer range burned by wildfire increased 242–1772 per cent, whereas the area on winter range burned by wildfire was low across all decades. Summer forage quality peaked in recently burned forests and decreased as time since burn increased. Summer forage abundance peaked in dry forests burned 6–15 years prior and mesic forests burned within 5 years. Forests recently burned by wildfire had higher summer forage quality and herbaceous abundance than those recently burned by prescribed fire. These results suggest that the nutritional carrying capacity for elk varies temporally with fire history and management practices. Our methods for characterizing nutritional resources provide a relatively straightforward approach for evaluating nutritional adequacy and tracking changes in forage associated with disturbances such as fire.

scholarly journals Characterization of Fuel before and after a Single Prescribed Fire in an Appalachian Hardwood Forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Loucks ◽  
Mary A. Arthur ◽  
Jessi E. Lyons ◽  
David L. Loftis
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Leaf Fall ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Fuel Mass ◽  
Fuel Loads ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Improved understanding of how fuel loads and prescribed fire interact in Appalachian hardwood forests can help managers evaluate the impacts of increased use of prescribed fire in the region. The objective of this study was to characterize fuel loads before and after a single late-winter/early spring prescribed fire and after autumn leaf fall. A repeated measures split-plot design was used to examine dead and down fuels by treatment, sampling time, and landscape position. Preburn mean fuel mass was 40.5 Mg/ha with the duff (Oea) comprising the largest component (19.5 Mg/ha; 48%), followed by large (more than 7.6 cm in diameter) downed logs (9.6 Mg/ha; 24%). Fuel mass was similar across landscape positions; however, duff depth was greater on subxeric compared with intermediate and submesic landscape positions. Burning reduced litter mass (Oi; P < 0.001)and duff depth (P = 0.01). Changes in woody fuels (1-, 10-, 100-, and 1,000-hour) and duff mass were not statistically significant. Post–leaf fall fuel masses did not differ from preburn masses. Thus, a single prescribed burn did not accomplish significant fuel reduction. However, significant declines in duff depth and fuel bed continuity may limit the spread of fire beyond leaf fall and increase potential for soil erosion. This study contributes to the dialogue regarding the use of fire in the Appalachian forest region and impacts on fuel loads.

Prescribed fire and timber harvest effects on terrestrial salamander abundance, detectability, and microhabitat use

2015 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. O'Donnell ◽  
Frank R. Thompson ◽  
Raymond D. Semlitsch
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Microhabitat Use

scholarly journals Negligible hormonal response following dehorning in free-ranging white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel G Penny ◽  
Rachel L White ◽  
Lynne MacTavish ◽  
Dawn M Scott ◽  
Angelo P Pernetta
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Ceratotherium Simum ◽  
Physiological Stress Response ◽  
White Rhinoceros ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Progesterone Metabolites ◽  
Steroid Profiles ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is experiencing unsustainable poaching losses fuelled by a demand for horn. Increasingly, private and state reserves are dehorning their rhinoceros populations in an attempt to reduce poaching pressure. Rhinoceroses use their horns in social interactions as well as during resource access and so its partial removal as part of reserve management practices may adversely influence these behaviours. Physiological stress can correlate with animal welfare, reproductive state and health and thus acts as a useful indicator of these parameters. To establish whether dehorning causes a physiological stress response, glucocorticoid and gonadal steroid profiles of free-ranging white rhinoceroses were determined through the collection and analysis of faecal steroid metabolites before and after dehorning. Faecal corticoid profiles were not influenced by the number of occasions a rhinoceros had been dehorned or by the number of days that had elapsed since dehorning. Furthermore, there was no apparent suppression in the concentrations of testosterone or progesterone metabolites in males and females, respectively, after exposure to multiple dehorning procedures. These findings should increase wildlife managers’ confidence that dehorning does not negatively impact white rhinoceros physiology as measured hormonally.

Potential Positive Effects of Fire on Juvenile Amphibians in a Southern USA Pine Forest

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Brown ◽  
John T. Baccus ◽  
D. Bruce Means ◽  
Michael R.J. Forstner
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Condition Index ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Burn Treatment ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Status Effect ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Prescribed fire is a common tool used to conserve and manage the integrity of forest ecosystems. We investigated short-term juvenile amphibian capture and body condition changes subsequent to fire (i.e., one prescribed burn and two wildfires) in a southern United States pine forest. We surveyed amphibians and predatory invertebrates before and after fires occurring during summer 2010. We tested for treatment (i.e., control, wildfire, or prescribed burn) and status (i.e., preburn or postburn) differences in 1) genus-level captures, 2) amphibian health (inferred through a body condition index), and 3) predatory invertebrate captures. Bufo and Scaphiopus captures increased in the prescribed burn treatment; whereas, no differences in Gastrophryne captures were observed. We did not detect a burn status effect on amphibian body condition. Predatory invertebrate captures were higher postburn in the control and wildfire treatments. Neither a low-intensity prescribed burn nor high-intensity wildfires negatively impacted short-term juvenile amphibian captures. Further, we speculate that Bufo and Scaphiopus survivorship may have been higher after the prescribed burn.

scholarly journals Impacts of forest management on medicinal herbs in the Missouri Ozarks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Badger Baldwin Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Canopy Gaps ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Forest Farming ◽  
Ground Flora ◽  
Ecological Site ◽  
Actaea Racemosa

As agroforestry becomes more accepted in the Midwestern US, understanding how non-timber forest product growth is impacted by forest management practice becomes increasingly important. Timber harvest and prescribed fires are common forest management practices in the Central Hardwoods Region, and canopy gaps commonly result from these practices. Three studies were conducted in central and southern Missouri to assess the impacts of forest management. One of the studies focused on the effects of discrete canopy gaps on the height, reproduction and mortality of transplanted Actaea racemosa L., Allium tricoccum Aiton, Collinsonia canadensis L. and Hydrastis canadensis L. This study was replicated at the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center in New Franklin, MO as well as the Doug Allen Project Site in Gravois Mills, Missouri. Results indicate that small canopy gaps may prove beneficial for increasing rates of photosynthesis, as well as the height and sexual reproduction of the study species. Using ground flora cover data from the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project, a second study was conducted on the relationships (P less than 0.05) between size and abundance of eleven herb species with ecological site types and the following timber harvest types: clearcutting, group selection, single-tree selection and intermediate thinning timber and no harvest (control). The goals were to ascertain whether ecological site descriptions can be used in conjunction with silvicultural management to select and manage sites for forest farming.Study species included Actaea racemosa L., Apocynum cannabinum L., Aristolochia serpentaria L., Dioscorea quaternata J.F. Gmel., Echinacea simulata R.L. McGregor, Geranium maculatum L., Hydrastis canadensis L., Parthenium integrifolium L., Podophyllum peltatum L., Sanguinaria canadensis L. and Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers. Uneven-aged management harvest types were significantly positively related to the percent cover and/or frequency of A. racemosa, E. simulata, G. maculatum, H. canadensis, P. peltatum and S. canadensis. Percent covers and/or frequencies of A. racemosa, A. cannabinum and A. serpentaria were significantly , positively related to mesic ESDs only, while the percent covers and/or frequencies of D. quaternata, G. maculatum and P. integrifolium were significantly , positively related to specific mesic and specific xeric ESDs A third study was conducted using the ground flora cover data from The Nature Conservancy's Chilton Creek Management Area, to assess significant (P less than 0.05) relationships between size and abundance of eight herb species with different ecological site descriptions under prescribed fire management. Goals for the study included identifying forest farming sites and planning prescribed fire management that, paired together, might stimulate growth of these plants. Study species included Actaea racemosa L., Apocynum cannabinum L., Aristolochia serpentaria L., Dioscorea quaternata J.F. Gmel., Geranium maculatum L., Parthenium integrifolium L., Sanguinaria canadensis L. and Tephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers. Percent cover values for the following species were positively related to time since beginning of experiment: A. racmosa, A. serpentaria, A. cannabinum, D. quaternata and T. virginiana, and frequency of A. cannabinum and D. quaternata was positively related to time since beginning of experiment. Representatives of these species significantly increased in percent cover over time and in the latter subset, had higher frequency over the course of prescribed fire management. Small canopy gaps may be beneficial to non-timber forest product species in oak hickory forests. Knowledge of how these species perform on particular ecological site descriptions can influence forest farming site selections. Additionally, decisions about which overstory management activities will be conducted, whether these be timber stand improvement activities involving canopy-gap creation, unevenaged management timber harvest types, and prescribed fire, can be used to determine whether forest farming operations can be synergistic with the existing silvicultural management plan.

scholarly journals Facilitating Prescribed Fire in Northern California through Indigenous Governance and Interagency Partnerships

Fire ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Tony Marks-Block ◽  
William Tripp
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
California Department ◽  
State Regulations

Prescribed burning by Indigenous people was once ubiquitous throughout California. Settler colonialism brought immense investments in fire suppression by the United States Forest Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE) to protect timber and structures, effectively limiting prescribed burning in California. Despite this, fire-dependent American Indian communities such as the Karuk and Yurok peoples, stalwartly advocate for expanding prescribed burning as a part of their efforts to revitalize their culture and sovereignty. To examine the political ecology of prescribed burning in Northern California, we coupled participant observation of prescribed burning in Karuk and Yurok territories (2015–2019) with 75 surveys and 18 interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous fire managers to identify political structures and material conditions that facilitate and constrain prescribed fire expansion. Managers report that interagency partnerships have provided supplemental funding and personnel to enable burning, and that decentralized prescribed burn associations facilitate prescribed fire. However, land dispossession and centralized state regulations undermine Indigenous and local fire governance. Excessive investment in suppression and the underfunding of prescribed fire produces a scarcity of personnel to implement and plan burns. Where Tribes and local communities have established burning infrastructure, authorities should consider the devolution of decision-making and land repatriation to accelerate prescribed fire expansion.

Reproductive output of ponderosa pine in response to thinning and prescribed burning in western Montana

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 844-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Peters ◽  
Anna Sala
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Western Montana ◽  
Cone Production

Thinning and thinning followed by prescribed fire are common management practices intended to restore historic conditions in low-elevation ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. While these treatments generally ameliorate the physiology and growth of residual trees, treatment-specific effects on reproductive output are not known. We examined reproductive output of second-growth ponderosa pine in western Montana 9 years after the application of four treatments: thinning, thinning followed by spring prescribed fire, thinning followed by fall prescribed fire, and unthinned control stands. Field and greenhouse observations indicated that reproductive traits vary depending on the specific management treatment. Cone production was significantly higher in trees from all actively managed stands relative to control trees. Trees subjected to prescribed fire produced cones with higher numbers of filled seeds than trees in unburned treatments. Seed mass, percentage germination, and seedling biomass were significantly lower for seeds from trees in spring burn treatments relative to all others and were generally higher in trees from fall burn treatments. We show for the first time that thinning and prescribed-burning treatments can influence reproductive output in ponderosa pine.

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