Herpetofaunal Responses to Restoration Treatments of Longleaf Pine Sandhills in Florida

Abstract

The hypothesis that habitat restoration will provide for community reestablishment and the creation of habitat heterogeneity was examined with regards to the herpetofauna of longleaf pine sandhills in northwest Florida. The herpetofaunal response to restoration was examined in fire-suppressed, hardwood-dominated areas treated with (1) spring fire; (2) felling or girdling; or (3) a granular form of the herbicide hexazinone. No-treatment controls were also included. Felling or girdling and herbicide plots were burned for fuel reduction two dormant seasons after initial treatment application. Additionally, data were collected in frequently burned reference sandhills to establish the target condition or restoration goal. Vegetation variables and herpetofaunal capture rates were compared among control and treatment areas. Two similarity indices were utilized to compare treatments and controls with reference sites, to examine restoration success. Restoration treatment effects were observed through reduced hardwood densities. Litter composition varied among control and treatment plots, with leaf litter being highest in areas lacking recent fire. Capture rates of some herpetofaunal species varied significantly among treatment plots. In 1997 similarity indices showed that spring-burned and felling or girdling plots were more similar to the reference sandhills than the other plots. Treated plots were not significantly different from controls in 1998, a year of a severe drought.

Fire and amphibians in North America

“…One might expect some similarities between the effects of logging and salvage logging, although salvage logging operations may result in higher rates of soil disturbance, sedimentation, and the magnitude and frequency of severe spate events resulting in channel scour. In the longleaf pine sandhills of Florida, capture rates of amphibians in spring-burned and felling plots were similar to frequently burned reference stands (Litt et al, 2001). More information on the effects of salvage logging on amphibians is critically needed.…”

“…In Oklahoma, amphibians were most abundant in plots that were either untreated (no burn or herbicide application) or treated with the herbicide tebuthiuron and not burned, relative to those plots that were burned after treatment with tebuthiuron . In Florida, application of the herbicide hexazinone prior to prescribed burning resulted in only slight differences in herpetofaunal assemblages compared to areas without herbicide application (Litt et al, 2001). Herbicides are also being applied to forests after wildland fires burn through to combat noxious weeds.…”

Seeking parsimony in landscape metrics

“…Although alternative methods are available to control fire-intolerant woody vegetation, such as mechanical thinning and the use of herbicides, prescribed fire best mimics natural disturbance processes and maintains a diverse herbaceous layer (Barnett 1999, Frost 2006. Furthermore, frequent fire, used either exclusively or in addition to other treatment methods, has proved beneficial for a variety of wildlife in longleaf pine systems (Wilson et al 1995, Russell et al 1999, Litt et al 2001, Karmacharya et al 2012.…”

Effects of Restoration Techniques on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Florida Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Sandhill Forests

“…In 1994, the Longleaf Pine Restoration Project (LPRP) was established in fire-suppressed (greater than 20 years) longleaf pine sandhills of Eglin Air Force Base, Northwestern Florida, to explore the effects of restoration treatments on vegetation and faunal community composition and soil processes [19,20,[42][43][44][45][46]. Experimental treatments applied included three hardwood reduction techniques (spring burning, herbicide application and chainsaw felling/girdling) and delayed burn (continued fire-suppression until 1999).…”