The Effects of Prescribed Fire on Millipede and Salamander Populations in a Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest." (2002)
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2002 The ffecE ts of Prescribed Fire on Millipede and Salamander Populations in a Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest. Alison Baird Gagan East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Gagan, Alison Baird, "The Effects of Prescribed Fire on Millipede and Salamander Populations in a Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest." (2002). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 724. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/724 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Effects of Prescribed Fire on Millipede and Salamander Populations in a Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Biology by Alison Baird Gagan December 2002 Dr. Fred Alsop, Chair Dr. James Stewart Dr. Foster Levy Keywords: Prescribed fire, Millipede, Salamander, Deciduous, Southern Appalachia ABSTRACT The Effects of Prescribed Fire on Millipede and Salamander Populations in a Southern Appalachian Deciduous Forest by Alison Baird Gagan Prescribed fire has increased as a forest management practice in southern Appalachia, but investigations into the effects of this silvicultural treatment on non-game wildlife inhabiting the region is limited. This study investigated the effects of prescribed fire on millipede and salamander populations. Seventeen sites within the Cherokee National Forest in east Tennessee that were treated once with prescribed fire between 1998 and 2002 were examined in the spring of 2002. Each burned plot was paired with an adjacent unburned plot. The number of individual millipedes and salamanders collected from burned plots was compared to the corresponding control plot. Millipedes declined in numbers following treatment with prescribed fire. The number of salamanders collected was insufficient to permit analyses comparing the number of salamanders found in burned and control sites. No difference between burned and control plots was detected in the species comprising the millipede communities. 2 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. 2 LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 6 Hypotheses and Predictions ................................................................................... 10 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS............................................................................... 12 Study Area ............................................................................................................ 12 Collection Procedures............................................................................................ 13 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 14 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................ 16 Millipede Abundance and Diversity ...................................................................... 16 Salamander Abundance and Diversity.................................................................... 26 4. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 35 VITA .................................................................................................................. 37 3 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Study site location and historical information .......................................................... 12 2. Millipede taxa collected during this investigation ..................................................... 16 3. Species collected from control plots and plots burned in 1998 .................................. 18 4. Species collected from control plots and plots burned in 1999 .................................. 19 5. Species collected from control plots and plots burned in 2000 .................................. 19 6. Species collected from control plots and plots burned in 2001 .................................. 20 7. Species collected from control plots and plots burned in 2002 .................................. 20 8. Two-way ANOVA: treatment vs. number of millipedes, blocking data by site......... 22 9. Two-way ANOVA: treatment vs. number of millipedes, blocking data by burn year 22 10. Two-way ANOVA: treatment vs. leaf litter depth, blocked by site........................... 23 11. Two-way ANOVA: treatment vs. millipede species, blocked by site........................ 25 12. Salamander species collected during this investigation ............................................. 28 13. Species found at control plots and plots burned in 1998............................................ 29 14. Species found at control plots and plots burned in 1999............................................ 30 15. Species found at control plots and plots burned in 2000............................................ 30 16. Species found at control plots and plots burned in 2001............................................ 30 17. Species found at control plots and plots burned in 2002............................................ 31 4 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1. Relative abundance among millipede genera ............................................................ 17 2. Millipede abundance in burned and control sites ....................................................... 22 3. Leaf litter depth ........................................................................................................ 23 4. Relative abundance of millipede genera in control sites ............................................ 25 5. Relative abundance of millipede genera in burned sites ............................................ 25 6. Millipede genera: burn vs. control sites..................................................................... 26 7. Relative abundance among salamander species.......................................................... 27 8. Abundance of salamanders in burned and control sites .............................................. 28 9. Relative abundance within salamander species .......................................................... 29 5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The role of fire in forest ecosystems has become an important political and economic issue. The enormous cost of preventing and fighting wildfires in national forests has resulted in forest management practices that are focused on fire prevention. Politicians are eager to find ways of preventing the loss of national forests and reducing the financial burden of managing fire. Fire management came under close scrutiny after decades of fire suppression resulted in the 1988 wildfire that consumed nearly 800,000 acres of Yellowstone National Park and cost over $120 million. Since that time, periodic prescribed burning of national forests has become an important aspect of forest management. “Prescribed fire” is a term used to describe a fire that is recommended by forest managers when there is concern about the potential for wildfire in a forest. It is an intentionally set fire that is controlled by forest managers so that the burn is less intense than a wildfire and consumes the leaf litter on the forest floor that could be used as fuel by a natural fire (Teuke and Van Lear 1982; Elliot and others 1999). In addition to reducing the amount of fuel for wildfires, a prescription of fire may be recommended to stimulate the growth of some plants and improve species diversity in forest ecosystems that are adapted to the natural occurrence of fire. Many plant and animal species are dependent on fire for their survival, but the absence of fire may also play a dramatic role in the forest ecosystem. The presence or absence of fire is an important factor in a forest. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether fire is an appropriate tool for management before the decision is made to conduct prescribed burns. Forests that have adapted to regular fire disturbance can benefit from prescribed burns, which may aid in the cycling of nutrients and stimulate the growth of browse and production of fruit and berries. Forest types that exhibit more mesic characteristics may not benefit from silvicultural treatment by prescribed fire. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 6 Administration reports that the southern Appalachian mountains receive between 40 and 70 inches of precipitation annually, much higher than the 5 to