Effects of Repeated Burning on Snag Abundance in Shortleaf Pine Woodlands

Forest managers are restoring and maintaining forest woodlands across substantial areas of the United States, and these efforts typically require the use of frequent prescribed fire. The effects of frequent prescribed fire on important habitat components such as snags remain unknown. We conducted a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forest science 2017-06, Vol.63 (3), p.342
Main Authors: Perry, Roger W, Jordan, Phillip N, McDaniel, Virginia L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal behavior
Burning
Burns
Controlled burning
Evergreen trees
Forest management
Forests
Mountains
Pine
Pine trees
Prescribed fire
Reptiles & amphibians
Snags
Thinning
Trees
Wildlife
Wildlife habitats
Wildlife management
Woodlands
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Summary:Forest managers are restoring and maintaining forest woodlands across substantial areas of the United States, and these efforts typically require the use of frequent prescribed fire. The effects of frequent prescribed fire on important habitat components such as snags remain unknown. We conducted a study to determine how snag densities are affected by repeated prescribed burning in stands being restored to shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) woodlands in the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas during summer 2015. We assessed snag densities in woodland forest stands that had 1, 2, 3, and 4-6 burns (n = 6 stands in each burn class) after overstory thinning and midstory removal. In woodlands, density of large snags (≥15 cm dbh) was not significantly related to the previous number of burns, but density of small snags (5-14.9 cm dbh) was lower in stands with greater numbers of burns. Repeated burning did not appear to result in lower numbers of large snags, which are an important habitat component for numerous wildlife species.
ISSN:0015-749X
1938-3738
DOI:10.5849/FS-20l6-096