Impacts of Timber Harvesting on Salamanders

We surveyed cove hardwood stands aged 15, 25, 50, and 285 years following clearcutting in the southern Appalachian Mountains of northem Georgia to assess the effects of stand age and stand habitat characteristics on salamander communities using drift-fence array and pitfall methodologies from May 1994 to April 1995. Over a 60,060 pitfall trapnight effort, we collected 3937 salamanders represented by Desmognathus aeneus, Desmognathus mtznticola, Desmognathus ocoee, Ilesmognathus quadramaculatus, Eurycea bislineata, Gyrinophilus porphyriticus, Pseudotriton ruber, Pkthodon glutinosus, Plethodon serratus, and Notophtlaalmus viridescens. Analysis of covariance with pitfall array to stream distance as the covariate showed that salamander species richness and diversity measures and numbers of Desmognathus aeneus and Desmognathus ocoee were highest in stands 285 years. Eutyeea bislineata and Plethodon glutinosus were more abundant in stands 250 years old than in stands 285 years. Within cove hardwood stands, species richness and diversity measures and relative abundances of Desmogmthus spp. and Gyrinophilus porphyriticus were negatively correlated with distance to stream. Species richness and diversity were positively correlated to mounts of emergent rock. Species richness, diversity and relative abundances of Desmognathus spp. were correlated with basal area within stands and extent of connected mesic, cove hardwood habitat and amount of cove habitat within 1 km radius among stands. Eurycea bislineata was negatively correlated with landfom index, a measure of surrounding landfom sheltering, and Plethodon glutinasus was positively correlated with elevation in cove hardwood stands. Our research indicates stand age is an important factor in explaining the abundance and community composition of salamanders in southern Appalachian cove hardwood communities. Because southern Appalachian woodland salamander communities are slow to recover and are substantially changed following disturbances such as clearcutting, populations in small, isolated cove hardwood stands might be more vulnerable to extirpation or may require longer recovery times than those in larger coves. Managers may need to assess habilat features such as cove extent and habitat connectivity to minimize impacts on these taxa by forest management activities in southern Appalachian cove hardwood communities. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Section: Desmogreathus Quadramaculatus Eurycea Bislineatamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand age and habitat influences on salamanders in Appalachian cove hardwood forests

Ford

Chapman

Menzel

et al. 2002

“…Perceptions of the effects may be determined in part by the design of monitoring programs (e.g. see Petranka et al, 1993 andAsh andBruce, 1994) as well as the specific methods used to perform censuses (Heyer et al, 1994 andHanlin et al, 2000), and the time period over which monitoring is conducted (Gibbons et al, 1997 andPechmann et al, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring herpetofauna in a managed forest landscape: effects of habitat types and census techniques

Ryan

Philippi

Leiden

et al. 2002

We surveyed the herpetofaunal (amphibian and reptile) communities inhabiting five types of habitat on a managed landscape. We conducted monthly surveys during 1997 in four replicate plots of each habitat type using several different methods of collection. Communities of the two wetland habitats (bottomland wetlands and isolated upland wetlands) were clearly dissimilar from the three terrestrial communities (recent clearcut, pine plantation, and mixed pine-hardwood forest). Among the three terrestrial habitats, the total herpetofaunal communities were dissimilar (P<0.10), although neither faunal constituent group alone (amphibians and squamate reptiles) varied significantly with regard to habitat. Three survey techniques used in the terrestrial habitats were not equally effective in that they resulted in the collection of different subsets of the total herpetofauna. The drift fence technique revealed the presence of more species and individuals in every habitat and was the only one to detect species dissimilarity among habitats. Nonetheless, coverboards contributed to measures of abundance and revealed species not detected by other techniques. We suggest that a combination of census techniques be used when surveying and monitoring herpetofaunal communities in order to maximize the detection of species.

“…Most previous studies of the effects of forest harvesting on amphibians have examined changes in abundance or diversity in response to forestry practices (Ash and Bruce, 1994;deMaynadier and Hunter, 1995;Semlitsch et al, 2008). There are fewer studies of the potential mechanisms that give rise to these changes, and several non-competing mechanisms may explain reductions in post-harvesting amphibian abundance and diversity, such as emigration from cleared forests, loss of breeding wetlands and failed recruitment, behavioral changes, or demographic changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of timber harvesting on terrestrial survival of pond-breeding amphibians

Todd

Blomquist

Harper

et al. 2014

a b s t r a c tSuccessful forest management for multiple uses requires balancing extractive practices with maintaining biodiversity, among other important goals. Amphibians comprise an important and abundant part of the biodiversity of many forests. Previous studies have documented declines in the abundance and diversity of amphibians in harvested forests. However, only recently have studies begun to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie such declines. Here, we studied the effects of timber harvesting on survival of geographically widespread ambystomatid salamanders in three forest regions of North America. We used terrestrial enclosures in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast to compare amphibian survival in unharvested controls, partially harvested stands ($25% canopy reduction), and clearcuts with coarse woody debris either retained or removed. In all regions, patterns of amphibian survival were similar, with both juvenile and adult salamanders generally having significantly lower survival in clearcuts compared with unharvested controls. Survival of juvenile salamanders in partially harvested stands was also low, but adult salamanders survived as well or better in partially harvested stands as in controls. Larger body size in juveniles was significantly correlated with recapture, irrespective of treatment, in both the Northeast and Southeast, but not in the Midwest or for adults in any region. Relatively heavier adults were more likely to be captured again in the Southeast, but relative mass was not correlated with recapture in any other regions or for juveniles. Our results suggest that increased amphibian mortality may contribute to declines of amphibian abundance and richness after forest clearcutting for the regions evaluated here. Although our results indicate that partial harvesting is compatible with survival of adult salamanders, retention of intact forest around breeding ponds would benefit all terrestrial stages of pond-breeding salamanders and represents a best management practice for the maintenance of amphibian biodiversity.