Breeding bird response to season of burn in an upland hardwood forest
| Authors: | Cathryn H. Greenberg, Tara L. Keyser, Henry McNab, Patrick Scott |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Southern Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.06.039 |
| Source: | Forest Ecology and Management |
Abstract
Upland hardwood forest managers are increasingly burning during the growing-season in hopes of improving wildlife habitat and attaining or accelerating other restoration goals, highlighting the need for research ad- dressing how season of burning affects wildlife, including breeding birds. We used 1-ha strip transects in nine units before (2011) and after (2013–2016) treatments to experimentally assess how breeding birds respond to early growing-season (26 April 2013; GSB) and dormant season (5 March 2014; DSB) burns, and controls (C). Burn effects on forest structure were minor and transitory, regardless of burn season. Burns did not affect overstory or midstory tree basal area or density; shrub cover did not significantly differ among treatments, but within GSB and DSB it decreased for 1–2 years post-burn. A trend of reduced leaf litter depth immediately following both burn treatments was apparent, and recovery was rapid. Percent canopy cover decreased slightly in GSB within four years post-burn. Total bird species richness and density did not differ among treatments or years, and no treatment × year interaction effects were detected. A treatment effect was detected for one of the 10 species tested; Red-bellied woodpecker density was greater in GSB than C in 2013 and 2015. No treat- ment × year interaction effect was detected for any tested species. Density of birds within the tree-, cavity-, and shrub and midstory-nesting guilds were not detectably affected by either burn treatment, but ground-nester density was lower in GSB and DSB than C in 2014. Our results indicate that single, low-intensity burns, re- gardless of burn season, are not an effective tool in creating suitable forest structure for disturbance-dependent breeding bird species, or changing breeding bird community composition. In the short-term, substantial forest overstory reduction by timber harvests or high-severity burns will likely be required to improve forest conditions for disturbance-dependent species, and to increase species richness and abundance of breeding birds.