10/7/2010 1 Prescribed Fire and Birds in Florida’s Upland Pine Forests Jim Cox Tall Timbers Research Station
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10/7/2010
1
Prescribed Fire and Birds in Florida’s
Upland Pine Forests
Jim CoxTall Timbers Research Station
10/7/2010
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Pineland birds represent a large proportion of total bird diversity in the Florida
Foraging/Nesting Guilds (Hamel 1982)
Canopy (32%)
Midstory (24%)
Ground/Shrub
Time since burned
Ground/Shrub (44%)
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FrequencyFrequency
Season
ScaleScale
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1966
NB-66Fire suppression for 40 years
1966
1981
Loblolly-shortleaf
Water oak, sweetgum, pine
2001
Bird Counts on NB66: 1966-1983
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Fire Frequency and Bachman’s Sparrow
Trend -2.3%
43 nest in areas
Nest Site Selection
a easburned <10 months
4 nests in4 nests in areas burned >18 months
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Ground cover
Vegetation Measurements
composition quantified using Daubenmeir grid
Grass biomass measured using Branby’s disc (1.5Branby s disc (1.5 kg; 3.3 lbs)
Emily Toriani Clark Jones
10
15
ound
5
10
Per
cent
Bar
e G
r oBa
re G
roun
d
-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn
0
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8
10
15
ound
%
5
10P
erce
nt B
are
Gr o
Bar
e G
roun
d %
-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn
0
Nests
6 Months Post-burn 18 Months Post-burn
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Burn frequencies optimal for some species may seem extreme
Eastern MeadowlarkFlorida BBS trend: -5.45% per year
Eastern Meadowlark
6
7
Meadowlark Trends on Wade Tract
2
3
4
5
EAM
L T e
rrito
r ies
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005YEAR
0
1
2
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Frequent fires can provide benefits in
unexpected ways.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
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Frequency:
2-3 year return intervals best meet needs of declining g
pine-grassland birds
FrequencyFrequency
Season
ScaleScale
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12 ha study area
Return of Breeding Birds Following a Late May Burn
12 ha study area
70 ha burn block burned 5/28/2003
4 surveys prior to burn
9 surveys conducted after burn (1 visit every 5-7 days )
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40
50
Variation by Foraging/Nesting Guilds
10
20
30To
tal I
n div
idua
l s
MIDSTORYGCOVERCANOPY
PRE
Week1-3
Week4-6
Week6+
Time
0
MIDSTORY
Influence of Season of Prescribed FireOn Bird Populations on ANF
Eight 12-ha study plots (4 growing season, 4 dormant season biennial fires)
Spot-map censuses in winter and breeding season from 1995 to 1997
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Influence of Season of Prescribed FireOn Bird Populations
29 species held territories
7 to 14 (mean=11.6) species per plot per year
10.3-22.5 terr. per plot per year
No statistically significant differences in the number of species or territories between
treatments
Clark Jones and Dr. Bob Cooper, UGA
Lightning-season Fire and Bachman’s Sparrow
Conventional Wisdom…Sparrows dispersed 1-3 days post-Sparrows dispersed 1 3 days postburn and never returned
Survival and reproduction lower after burning
No breeding activity following burns
Post-burn densities < pre-burn
Burns may eliminate all breeding opportunities because adult survival is ca. 50%
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No differences in (1) home range sizes, (2) male site
N = 365
male site fidelity, and (3) the distance males moved after burns
Sparrow #1177 b d d hi
Wade Tract
abandoned his territory in April 2007 -- 3 weeks before burn!
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10
15
ound
%
5
10P
erce
nt B
are
Gr o
Bar
e G
roun
d %
Two-year return interval
-4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24Months Since Burn
0
Nests
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Winter Bachman’s Sparrow Abundance
Wade Tract Wade Tract
Burns
Henslow’s Sparrow
Global Population <75,000
Use 3-year rough on breeding ground
SparrowWinters throughout southeastern pinelands (Oct – Apr)
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Season of Burn and Brown-headed Nuthatch
Nest Sites <2 mPeak Nesting March-April
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12BURNEDDEPREDATION 20
RRATGRAT
Breeding Phenology and Snake Abundances
4
6
8
10
Cou
nt
FLEDGEDBURNED
5
10
15
Cou
nt
RRAT
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Weeks After March 1
0
2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14Weeks After March 1
0
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Winter burns with extensive scorching also may place extra pressures on sandhill populations
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Nuthatches on Ocala National Forest
Not ObservedObserved
Nuthatches on Ocala National Forest
Not ObservedObserved
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Grasshoppers and otherinsects increase significantly following lightning-season burning(P h t l 1998)(Provencher et al. 1998).
Lightning-season burns may provide higher abundance of insects throughout summer monthsmonths(Brennan et al. 1995, 1997).
Loggerhead Shrike
SeasonBurns have impacts
dl fregardless of season
Impacts are out-weighed by long-term gainsg g
Merits of lightning-season burns still debated
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FrequencyFrequency
Season
ScaleScale
“…burn at the smallest scalepossible topossible to improve bobwhite survival and productivity.”
Wellendorf and Palmer 2006
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Autumn Bobwhite Densities on Large- & Small-scale Burn Plots
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Henslow’s Sparrow
Winter burns eliminate habitat and concentrate birds in small areasbirds in small areas.
Thatcher (2006) recommended maintaining unburned vegetation within 300 m of burn blocks (ca. 200 acre blocks).
Burn Scale and Bachman’s Sparrow
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Summary
Large SmallMale home range size
Male site fidelity
Maximum displacement
Monthly survival rates?
?
?
y
Male densities
Tendency
Statistically significant
“Because of concerns about the potential effectsabout the potential effects of burn scale, it took us 5 days to burn the acreage we’d normally burn in a yday…..”
Chuck Hess, ANF
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Scale
Concerns exist but gainsConcerns exist but gains appear to be marginal.
Care should be taken where small populations
occur.
FrequencyFrequency
Season
ScaleScale
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Frequency
ImportanceFrequency
Season
S lScale
Fire-dependent Species Are Declining Rapidly!
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L k f fi i thLack of fire is the disturbance!
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