J. Drew Lanham

Short‐Term Effects of Fire and Other Fuel Reduction Treatments on Breeding Birds in a Southern Appalachian Upland Hardwood Forest

Abstract We compared the effects of 3 fuel reduction techniques and a control on breeding birds during 2001–2005 using 50-m point counts. Four experimental units, each >14 ha, were contained within each of 3 replicate blocks at the Green River Game Land, Polk County, North Carolina, USA. Treatments were 1) prescribed burn, 2) mechanical understory reduction (chainsaw-felling of shrubs and small trees), 3) mechanical + burn, and 4) controls. We conducted mechanical treatments in winter 2001–2002 and prescribed burns in spring 2003. Tall shrub cover was substantially reduced in all treatments compared to controls. Tree mortality and canopy openness was highest in the mechanical + burn treatment after burning, likely due to higher fuel loading and hotter burns; tree mortality increased with time. Many bird species did not detectably decrease or increase in response to treatments. Species richness, total bird density, and some species, including indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea) and eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis), increased in the mechanical + burn treatment after a 1-year to 2-year delay; eastern wood-pewees (Contopus virens) increased immediately after treatment. Hooded warblers (Wilsonia citrina), black-and-white warblers (Mniotilta varia), and worm-eating warblers (Helmitheros vermivorus) declined temporarily in some or all treatments, likely in response to understory and (or) leaf litter depth reductions. Densities of most species affected by treatments varied with shrub cover, tree or snag density, or leaf litter depth. High snag availability, open conditions, and a higher density of flying insects in the mechanical + burn treatment likely contributed to increased bird density and species richness. In our study, fuel reduction treatments that left the canopy intact, such as low-intensity prescribed fire or mechanical understory removal, had few detectable effects on breeding birds compared to the mechanical + burn treatment. High-intensity burning with heavy tree-kill, as occurred in our mechanical + burn treatment, can be used as a management tool to increase densities of birds associated with open habitat while retaining many forest and generalist species, but may have short-term adverse effects on some species that are associated with the ground- or shrub-strata for nesting and foraging.

Oak regeneration using the shelterwood-burn technique: management options and implications for songbird conservation in the southeastern United States

Shelterwood silviculture is commonly used to regenerate oaks in upland stands. However, competition from other species such as tulip-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) may deter oak regeneration when these traditional shelterwood techniques are used. The shelterwood-burn technique is a relatively new tool for regenerating oak-dominated stands on some upland sites while simultaneously minimizing undesirable hardwood intrusion with prescribed fire. Once successful oak regeneration has been achieved, three options are available which will result in different vegetative structure and composition within a stand and subsequently different habitats for songbirds. These options are: complete or partial canopy retention, post-harvest prescribed burning and complete canopy removal. Canopy retention, burning and removal treatments will create, respectively, two-age stands that are likely to harbor a diverse mixture of mature forest and early successional species; park-like woodlands with open woodland species; or early-successional habitats with shrubland species. We suggest that shelterwood-burn systems and the management options associated with them offer viable alternatives for managing both songbird and timber resources where oak-dominated stands are the desired goal in upland southeastern sites.

COMPOSITION AND ABOVEGROUND PRODUCTIVITY OF THREE SEASONALLY FLOODED DEPRESSIONAL FORESTED WETLANDS IN COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA

Abstract Depressional wetlands provide habitat for birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and rare plant species. In order to protect, restore, and manage depressional wetlands, it is important to know more about the vegetative composition and productivity of these systems. The species composition and aboveground productivity of three seasonally flooded depressional forested wetlands were studied on the coastal plain of South Carolina from January 2000 to January 2001. The dominant tree species in the depressions were Taxodium distichum [L.] Rich., Nyssa aquatica L., and Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora [Walt.] Sarg. Annual diameter at breast height (dbh) growth was measured for all trees >10 cm dbh in five 20 × 25 m plots within each depression, and changes in dbh were used to estimate annual biomass and stem production. Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) was calculated for each wetland by summing stem and leaf litter production. There were no significant differences in ANPP among sites, ranging from 564–774 grams/m2/yr. These ANPP values are similar to values reported for slowly flowing forested wetland systems of the southern United States.

Monotypic Nest Site Selection by Swainson's Warbler in the Mountains of South Carolina

Abstract Surveys for nesting Limnothlypis swainsonii (Swainsons Warblers) were conducted in the Appalachian mountains of northwestern South Carolina (Pickens County) during the breeding seasons from 1999 to 2003. A total of 74 nests were located, of which 60 (81%) were found in young (small) Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock). This nest-site selection tendency in montane populations has not been described. Habitat data collected in 1999 revealed trends of nests placed low, supported by multiple stems, close to the main tree stem, well concealed from above with leaf litter, poorly concealed from below and relatively close to streams. We suggest that conservation of areas in the Southern Appalachians where eastern hemlock is a component of the forest may play an important role in Swainsons Warbler conservation.

Birding by Ear: A Study of Recreational Specialization and Soundscape Preference

Soundscapes have become recognized as an important natural resource. The traditional human-made versus natural soundscape comparison currently used in recreational resource management is challenged by borrowing soundscape components (i.e., biophony, anthrophony, geophony) from soundscape ecology. This article evaluated the soundscape preference of birders. A three-component model of recreational specialization was used to evaluate how recreationists differ in their preference for soundscape components. Data from in-person surveys collected at The Audubon Center and Sanctuary at Francis Beidler Forest in Harleyville, South Carolina were used in combination with surveys from online birding list servers to obtain a sample of 415 individuals with varying levels of specialization. The findings suggest soundscape preference exists as biophony, geophony, and anthrophony and that more specialized birders found geophony to be significantly more annoying than less specialized birders. Additionally, the skill and knowledge component of specialization best explained the difference in geophony preference among birders.

Managing Early Successional Habitats for Wildlife in Novel Places

Utility rights-of-way stretch for thousands of kilometers across the North American landscape. In deciduous forests of the Central Hardwood Region, rights-of-way provide opportunities for conserving early successional species, including a broad array of songbirds and butterflies. Although the millions of hectares managed by the utility industry to provide electricity, natural gas, and other services are not usually viewed by the public as beneficial for wildlife conservation, we suggest that rights-of-way can be valuable early succession habitats in addition to more “traditionally” created areas like clearcut harvests.