Responses of vertebrate fauna to prescribed fire and fuel reduction treatments in the southern Piedmont

The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study (FFS) is a national study installed at 13 sites across the United States. The goal of the FFS is to assess the effects of fuel reduction treatments on seven categories of physical and biological response variables. One installation of the FFS was on the Clemson Experimental Forest. There, the impacts of fuel reduction treatments such as prescribed burning and thinning were studied on a multitude of factors, including the subjects of this text: herpetofauna, small mammals, and avifauna.;Treatment, study site, and block effects on abundance were detected at the order, suborder, functional group, and species level for herpetofauna, small mammals, and avifauna. Anolis carolinensis abundance was higher in Thin plots than in Control plots. Significant block effects were detected for Serpentes and Plethodon spp. Anura and Caudata abundance were correlated to adjacent breeding wetland proximity. Herpetofauna response variables were positively correlated with and predicted by the presence of large trees (45-60 cm dbh) more than any other environmental variable. There were significant treatment responses for Peromyscus spp. and total small mammal abundance. Peromyscus spp. abundance was higher in Thin/Burn, Thin, and Burn plots than in Control plots. Small mammal variables were most often positively correlated with woody and herbaceous vegetation species dominance.;Breeding season bird abundance was highest in Burn and Thin/Burn plots treatments. Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), prairie warbler (Dendroica discolor), and yellow-breasted chat ( Icteria virens) abundance was higher in Burn and Thin/Burn plots than in Thin and Control plots. Breeding season, conservation value, partners in flight (PIF) score, and species richness were significantly higher in Burn and Thin/Burn plots than in Thin and Control plots. Breeding season bird abundance and richness were most often positively correlated with herbaceous species diversity and native herb cover. Burn and Thin/Burn plots had the highest breeding season conservation value. Early successional and high PIF scoring species nested more frequently in Thin/Burn plots than in the other treatments. Winter abundance and richness were most frequently positively correlated with 1000 hour rotten fuel. Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) abundance was higher in Burn plots than in Control and Thin plots during winter surveys.;Path analysis of fuel reduction treatments on herpetofauna across four southeastern FFS sites provided quantitative evidence relating changes in vegetation and fuels to herpetofauna response. Treatment effects on herpetofauna response variables were predicted by the direct and indirect effects of basal area, coarse woody debris volume, native herb cover, and forest floor depth. Path models were solved for Lacertilia, Serpentes, Testudines, and Reptilia response to fuel reduction treatments. Lizard and reptile abundance were higher in Burn and Thin/Burn plots than in Control and Thin plots across four southeastern FFS sites. Increasing native herb cover best predicted lizard and reptile abundance within Burn and Thin/Burn plots. Native herb cover, lizard, and reptile abundance were highest in Burn and Thin/Burn plots and each of these response variables responded positively to Burn and Thin/Burn treatments.;Introducing prescribed burning and thinning in upland pine plantations in the southern Piedmont creates habitat conditions that are essential for the conservation of resident and migratory bird species that rely on early succession shrub/scrub habitat. Thinning and prescribed burning that creates gaps in the forest canopy can increase the abundance of Peromyscus spp., which are important in forest stands not only as ecological consumers but as prey items for a number of bird, reptile, and mammal species. Older stands composed of large diameter trees provide habitat for mesic snake species. Managers should maintain a component of sawtimber-sized trees in southern Piedmont forests to provide habitat for these species. Forest stands are important staging grounds for salamanders and anurans that use adjacent streams and beaver impoundments for breeding habitat. Upland Piedmont forest stands in close proximity to amphibian breeding habitat should be maintained.;Prescribed burning and thinning can mimic historical disturbance regimes in southeastern forests where southeastern herpetofauna have evolved. This study related a positive response from the reptile community to an increase in native herb cover which resulted from prescribed burning and thinning. Reptiles in southeastern forests with historical disturbance regimes benefit from the open conditions created from prescribed burning and thinning. Amphibian response to fuel reduction treatments across southeastern FFS sites could not be accurately assessed. Amphibian abundance was dictated more by the proximity of breeding wetlands to treatment areas and masked the ability to detect treatment effects.