Effects of a community restoration fire on small mammals and herpetofauna in the southern Appalachians

Ford, W. Mark; Menzel, Michael; McGill, David W.; Laerm, Joshua; McCay, Timothy S.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(98)00354-5

Cited by 92 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Combustion and desiccation of downed wood, duff, and litter can create an inhospitable environment for frogs and salamanders that are associated with moist leaf litter, ground cover, and soil (McLeod and Gates, 1998;Ford et al, 1999;Hyde, 2000;Constible et al, 2001). We found significant reductions of leaf litter in wildfires in western Oregon and prescribed fires in western North Carolina (EJH, RBB, D. Major, unpubl.…”

Section: Duff and Littermentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire and amphibians in North America

Pilliod

Bury²,

Hyde³

et al. 2003

Forest Ecology and Management

149

139

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Information on amphibian responses to fire and fuel reduction practices is critically needed due to potential declines of species and the prevalence of new, more intensive fire management practices in North American forests. The goals of this review are to summarize the known and potential effects of fire and fuels management on amphibians and their aquatic habitats, and to identify information gaps to help direct future scientific research. Amphibians as a group are taxonomically and ecologically diverse; in turn, responses to fire and associated habitat alteration are expected to vary widely among species and among geographic regions.Available data suggest that amphibian responses to fire are spatially and temporally variable and incompletely understood. Much of the limited research has addressed short-term (1-3 yr) effects of prescribed fire on terrestrial life stages of amphibians in the southeastern United States.Information on the long-term negative effects of fire on amphibians and the importance of fire for maintaining amphibian communities is sparse for the high number of taxa in North America.Given the size and severity of recent wildland fires and the national effort to reduce fuels on federal lands, future studies are particularly needed to examine the effects of these landscape disturbances on amphibians. We encourage studies to address population-level responses of amphibians to fire by examining how different life stages are affected by changes in aquatic, riparian, and upland habitats. Research designs need to be rigorous and credible, yet provide information that is relevant for fire managers and those responsible for assessing the potential effects of various fuels reduction alternatives on rare, sensitive, and endangered amphibian species.

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Section: Duff and Littermentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire and amphibians in North America

Pilliod

Bury²,

Hyde³

et al. 2003

Forest Ecology and Management

149

139

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“…If intense enough, prescribed burning conceivably could reduce the amount of downed coarse woody debris on the forest floor to the detriment of small mammals (Loeb 1996, Van Lear 1996, Ford et al 1999, McCay and Komoroski 2004. However, we believe this did not occur because we noted few instances of larger coarse woody debris being consumed whereas numerous large pieces from collapsed snags or tree mortality were added.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…In the burn stands, individuals may have relied on remaining hard-mast caches or belowground resources (i.e., hypogeal fungi) until aboveground resources reappeared. The open ground in the burn treatments may have facilitated chipmunk foraging for seeds and arthropods (Ahlgren 1966, Sullivan and Boateng 1996, Ford et al 1999. As an additional benefit, the nutritional content of forages and soft fruits in the burned areas may have exceeded that of prefire or unburned area values later in the growing season or subsequent growing seasons .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although our inferences are limited by small sample sizes and the small geographic scope of our work, we believe the conclusions of this case study could be extended to other small mammal species with similar forage requirements and population dynamics in the central and southern Appalachian region following spring burning. Other small mammal species, such as the southern red-backed vole, that do not larder hoard and that must rely mainly on seeds (assuming burned ground does not enhance seed apparency) or emergent vegetation, might be temporarily negatively affected by spring prescribed fire (Beck andVogel 1972, Merritt 1981), although this was not observed in similar southern Appalachian forest habitats with more intense spring burns (Ford et al 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of eastern chipmunks to single application spring prescribed fires on the Fernow Experimental Forest

Rowan¹,

Ford²,

Castleberry³

et al. 2005

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We used radiotelemetry to examine the effects of spring prescribed fire for preharvest oak (Quercus spp.) shelterwood management on eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) home-range attributes and burrow use on the Fernow Experimental Forest in the central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Results for 21 chipmunks showed that prescribed fire had little discernable effect on home-range or core-area size, extent of conspecific overlap, or burrow use. Fire tolerance of this common forest rodent provides additional evidence supporting the use of prescribed burning to achieve vegetation management objectives in the central Appalachians where appropriate.

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“…Studies in nontropical ecosystems, including deserts, grasslands, and temperate forests have recorded a decrease in the abundance of some species immediately after a wildfire (Quinn 1979, Fox 1982, Ojeda 1989, Fa and Sanchez-Cordero 1993, Churchfield 1997, Simon et al 2002, Converse et al 2006, reduced abundance in areas that are burned regularly (Sherburne-Junior 1959, Rana 1985 or the dominance of a few species in burned areas (Krefting & Ahlgren 1974, Kern 1981, Clark & Kaufman 1990. In most cases, the time elapsed since the disturbance seems to be an important variable determining the composition of the mammalian community (Vieira & Marinho-Filho 1998, Ford et al 1999, Simon et al 2002, Torre & Diáz 2004, Fisher & Wilkinson 2005. In the Cerrado, Briani et al (2004) and Vieira (1999) found that small mammals were relatively tolerant to such impacts, and were especially abundant during the early successional stages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge effects and the impact of wildfires on populations of small non-volant mammals in the forest-savanna transition zone in Southern Amazonia

et al. 2012

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Abstract:The impact of fire and edge effects on the community of small non-volant mammals was investigated in transitional Amazon forest within a matrix of soybean plantations. The animals were live trapped on 24 line transects, of which 16 were distributed in unburned areas and 8 in a burned area. A total of 11 species was recorded, including six rodents and five marsupials. The abundance and richness of small mammals appeared to decrease in burned areas, although this impact appeared to mask edge effects. In the absence of fire impacts, a positive relationship was found between mammal abundance and the distance from the forest edge. The impact of the edge effect on the diversity of small mammals appears to be influenced by the type of anthropogenic matrix and the ecological characteristics of the different species. Keywords: Cricetidae, Didelphidae, diversity, soybean matrix, experimental fire.MENDES-OLIVEIRA, A.C., SANTOS, P.G.P., CARVALHO-JÚNIOR, O., MONTAG, L.F.A., LIMA, R.C.S., MARIA, S.L.S. & ROSSI, R.V. Efeito de borda e do fogo sobre pequenos mamíferos não-voadores (Rodentia e Didelphimorphia) em uma zona de transição Floresta-Cerrado ao sul da Amazônia. Biota Neotrop. 12(3): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v12n3/pt/abstract?article+bn00912032012Resumo: O efeito de borda e do fogo sobre a comunidade de pequenos mamíferos não-voadores foi investigada em uma área de transição entre Cerrado e Floresta em uma área de matriz de soja na Amazônia Oriental. Os indivíduos foram coletados em 24 transectos, dos quais 16 foram distribuídos em área sem efeito do fogo e oito distribuídos com efeito do fogo. Um total de 11 espécies foi registrado, incluindo seis roedores e cinco marsupiais. A espécie Hylaeamys megacephalus foi a mais abundante em áreas sem efeito do fogo. A abundância e riqueza de pequenos mamíferos não-voadores apresentaram uma diminuição em áreas queimadas, entretanto o efeito do fogo parece mascarar o efeito de borda nestas mesmas áreas. Em relação ao efeito de borda, sem nenhum efeito de fogo, a relação entre a abundância de pequenos mamíferos não-voadores com a distância da borda foi positiva. A relação entre a diversidade de pequenos mamíferos e efeito de borda pode ser ligada à vegetação matriz e características ecológicas de cada espécie. Palavras-chave: Cricetidae, Didelphidae, diversidade, sojicultura, fogo experimental. 58Mendes-Oliveira, A.C. et al.

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Effects of a community restoration fire on small mammals and herpetofauna in the southern Appalachians

Cited by 92 publications

References 21 publications

Fire and amphibians in North America

Fire and amphibians in North America

Response of eastern chipmunks to single application spring prescribed fires on the Fernow Experimental Forest

Edge effects and the impact of wildfires on populations of small non-volant mammals in the forest-savanna transition zone in Southern Amazonia

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