Abundance of arthropods inhabiting duff and soil after prescribed burning on forest clearcuts in northern Idaho

Abstract

Abundance of some arthropods inhabiting the duff and soil on three clearout areas that were prescribed burned was investigated in northcentral Idaho.Generally more arthropods were present and more taxa were represented on older burns. In duff samples, the Acarina, Chilopoda, Thysanoptera Protura, and Thysanura were most numerous in more recent burns. Acarina comprised 77 percent of the fauna in the duff samples. Soil samples collected before mid-July contained about 90 percent of the total number of individuals--mostly immaturesespecially on the oldest burn. The most | j abundant arthropod in the soil samples on the oldest burn was the carabid * [i Amara erraticaj (Sturm) .Because of the abundance of this carabid and its » seed-eating behavior, it is recommended that direct seeding of western whitê / pine^Pinus monticola iDougl. ) , and perhaps of other conifers, be done the first or second season after prescribed burning.

Fires in nature: a review of the challenges for wild animals

“…Eggs, nymphs, and adult stages may be affected, and fires can cause a long-term depression effect on populations (Lyon 1978). Decreases in soil fauna populations after a fire have been reported (Rickard 1970;Metz and Farrier 1973;Harris and Whitcomb 1974;Rinne 1996;Fellin and Kennedy 2014), including ticks not attached to a host animal, beetles, mites, aquatic macroinvertebrates, etc. Even after 2-6 years post-fire, invertebrate populations density may not reach pre-fire levels (Huhta et al 1967;Vlug and Borden 1973).…”

Fires in Nature: A Review of the Challenges for Wild Animals

“…Eggs, nymphs, and adult stages may be affected, and fires can cause a long-term depression effect on populations [47]. Decreases in soil fauna populations after a fire have been reported [185,[194][195][196][197][198], including ticks not attached to a host animal, beetles, mites, aquatic macroinvertebrates, etc. Even after 2-6 years post-fire, invertebrate population density may not reach pre-fire levels [199][200][201].…”

Effects of fire on fauna : a state-of-knowledge review

“…In Idaho, the relative abundance of the soil fauna was determined 1, 2, and 3 years after clearcut areas were prescribed burned (Fellin and Kennedy 1972) .…”