Impacts of prescribed fire on saproxylic beetles in loblolly pine logs

Abstract

1. Studies addressing the immediate impacts of fire on forest arthropod communities and their implications for conservation are few, particularly for species within dead wood. To investigate the effects of fire on saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera), we randomly assigned large-diameter loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) logs to a forest scheduled for a prescribed burn (i.e. a low-intensity surface fire) or to an adjacent unburned forest in Georgia, USA.2. Beginning 5 days after the fire, the logs were placed in rearing bags to capture emerging beetles. In total, 3457 individuals from 80 taxa were collected.3. While more than twice as many individuals were collected from unburned logs than from burned logs, none of the 21 most abundant (i.e. ‡10 individuals) taxa, with the exception of Dioedus punctatus LeConte (Tenebrionidae), was absent from burned logs. Furthermore, similar total numbers of species were collected from unburned (62) and burned (60) logs.4. Diplocoelus rudis (LeConte), Cathartosilvanus imbellis (LeConte) and Endeitoma dentata (Horn) were considerably more common in burned logs, suggesting rapid colonisation following the fire.5. There were no differences in community composition between treatments based on analyses of similarities (ANOSIM) using presence-absence data. Community composition, however, did differ between treatments based on ANOSIM using log-transformed abundance data, but only for logs taken from a tree largely covered by bark, suggesting that the subcortical fauna is more strongly impacted.6. These results indicate that saproxylic beetles within large-diameter loblolly pine logs can, for the most part, tolerate low-intensity fires and need not recolonise burned sites.

Distribution of saproxylic beetles in a recently burnt landscape of the northern boreal forest of Québec

“…lightly burned woody debris or dead wood located in small unburned patches enclosed within the burn) cannot be excluded at this point since epigeic arthropods may survive to low severity burns (Ahlgren, 1974;Paquin and Coderre, 1997;Wikars and Schimmel, 2001). Ulyshen et al (2010) recently reported that saproxylic beetles may survived to prescribed, low intensity fires. However, the volume of local pre-fire CWD and low fire severity at the nearby scale did not have such positive effect on the local abundance of saproxylic species.…”

“…Early coloniz- Duelli, 2004). Potential source habitats may include woody debris located in unburned forests in the surroundings, other recently burned stands (Saint-Germain et al, 2008) or in the burned habitat itself, as one cannot exclude that fire does not kill all organisms (Ulyshen et al, 2010). Large distance from source habitats or reduced local populations before fire may negatively affect the probability of a species to be collected in a suitable habitat.…”

Impacts of Prescribed Fire Frequency on Coarse Woody Debris Volume, Decomposition and Termite Activity in the Longleaf Pine Flatwoods of Florida

“…Although their heat tolerances (~44 °C) [38], fall far below the temperatures reached on the forest floor during typical burns [39], these organisms could have easily found refuge several centimeters beneath the soil surface [40]. They may also have been able to survive fires within dead wood as has been shown for other insects [41]. Furthermore, the availability of dead wood was not affected by fire frequency and charring does not deter feeding by these organisms [42] so their food resources were not affected.…”

Carabid beetle response to prescribed fire and herbicide in intensively managed, mid-rotation pine stands in Mississippi

“…In fact, past research has demonstrated benefits of these treatments, applied singularly or together, to game and non-game animals such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman, 1780; e.g., Mixon et al, 2009;Iglay et al, 2010b), eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris Linnaeus, 1758; e.g., Dickson and Wigley, 2001;Miller and Conner, 2007), northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus Linnaeus, 1758; e.g., Guynn et al, 2004;Miller and Miller, 2004;Welch et al, 2004), and songbirds (e.g., Sladek et al, 2008;Iglay, 2010). Past research regarding invertebrate responses to prescribed fire and imazapyr is primarily focused on fire (e.g., Gandhi et al, 2001;Hanula et al, 2009;Ulyshen et al, 2010). However, research regarding carabid (Coleoptera: Carabidae) responses to these treatments is lacking (Cobb et al, 2007;Iglay, 2010).…”

“…Research regarding carabid responses to fire has been primarily conducted in Minnesota, Pacific Northwest, and Canadian forests (e.g., McCullough et al, 1998;Gandhi et al, 2001;Niwa and Peck, 2002) with some recent studies in the southeastern United States (e.g., Hanula and Wade, 2003;Hanula et al, 2009;Ulyshen et al, 2010). Few studies have investigated effects of forest herbicide application on arthropods with most limited to site preparation applications (Salminen et al, 1996;Bell et al, 1997;Duchesne et al, 1999) and to our knowledge, information regarding carabid responses to fire with or without imazapyr is limited to our research effort and post-fire salvage logging in boreal forest (Cobb et al, 2007).…”