Songbird communities in a pyrogenic habitat mosaic

Stuart-Smith, Kari; Adams, Ian T.; Larsen, Karl W.

doi:10.1071/wf01050

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Intact habitat patches within the boundaries of large fires may provide essential resources to facilitate species survival until the surrounding landscape can be successfully recolonized (Stuart-Smith et al 2002, Bradstock et al 2005, Cook and Holt 2006, Castro et al 2010. The importance of refuges in facilitating survival will vary between species and is dependent on whether refuges provide critical resources that are absent from the surrounding landscape (Robinson et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the location of fire refuges in wet forest ecosystems

Berry

Driscoll

Stein

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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The increasing frequency of large, high-severity fires threatens the survival of old-growth specialist fauna in fire-prone forests. Within topographically diverse montane forests, areas which experience less severe or fewer fires compared with those prevailing in the landscape may present unique resource opportunities enabling old-growth specialist fauna to survive. Statistical landscape models which identify the extent and distribution of potential fire refuges may assist land managers to incorporate these areas into relevant biodiversity conservation strategies. We used a case study in an Australian wet montane forest to establish how predictive fire simulation models can be interpreted as management tools to identify potential fire refuges. We examined the relationship between the probability of fire refuge occurrence as predicted by an existing fire refuge model and fire severity experienced during a large wildfire. We also examined the extent to which local fire severity was influenced by fire severity in the surrounding landscape. We used a combination of statistical approaches including generalised linear modelling, variogram analysis and receiver operating characteristics and area under the curve analysis (ROC AUC). We found that the amount of unburnt habitat and the factors influencing the retention and location of fire refuges varied with fire conditions. Under extreme fire conditions, the distribution of fire refuges was limited to only extremely sheltered, fire-resistant regions of the landscape. During extreme fire conditions, fire severity patterns were largely determined by stochastic factors that could not be predicted by the model. When fire conditions were moderate, physical landscape properties appeared to mediate fire severity distribution. Our study demonstrates that land managers can employ predictive landscape fire models to identify the broader climatic and spatial domain within which fire refuges are likely to be present. It is essential that within these envelopes, forest is protected from logging, roads and other developments so that the ecological processes related to the establishment and subsequent use of fire refuges are maintained. Abstract. The increasing frequency of large, high-severity fires threatens the survival of old-growth specialist fauna in fire-prone forests. Within topographically diverse montane forests, areas that experience less severe or fewer fires compared with those prevailing in the landscape may present unique resource opportunities enabling old-growth specialist fauna to survive. Statistical landscape models that identify the extent and distribution of potential fire refuges may assist land managers to incorporate these areas into relevant biodiversity conservation strategies. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral SciencesEcological Applications, 25(8), 2015, pp. 2337-2348 Ó 2015 by the Ecological Society ofWe used a case study in an Australian wet montane forest to establish how predictive fire simulation models can be in...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the location of fire refuges in wet forest ecosystems

Berry

Driscoll

Stein

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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“…Tens of Nuthatch territories have been affected, either by the fire itself or by postfire salvage logging by foresters (Thibault et al 2004). Such large fires may have different consequences for a bird population depending on (1) the characteristics of the fire (e.g., size, severity, patchiness, time since fire) (Kotliar et al 2002;Moreira et al 2003;Smucker et al 2005;Kotliar et al 2007), (2) changes in vegetation structure (Bock and Lynch 1970;Pons and Prodon 1996;Barlow et al 2002), (3) increase or depletion of food (Hutto 1995;Apfelbaum and Haney 1981;Stuart-Smith et al 2002), (4) nest-site availability (Hutto 1995;Dwyer and Block 2000), and (5) increase in predation (Creegan and Osborne 2005;Vierling et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of the Corsican Nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) after a fire

et al. 2009

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The Corsican Nuthatch Sitta whiteheadi is a bird endemic to Corsica Island and has a very small population. Its habitat, Corsican pine Pinus nigra laricio forest, is currently restricted to less than 16,000 ha and is threatened by forest fires. In this article, we aim (1) to evaluate the effects of a large wildfire on a Nuthatch population, and (2) to identify the habitat features that influence the presence/absence of the Nuthatch after fire, so as to promote appropriate forestry practices after fire. The study has been conducted on a study plot of 300 ha which is part of a larger area severely burnt in August 2003. Habitat characteristics have been investigated on 39 plots of 1,225 m 2 occupied by the bird, and 22 randomly chosen plots without the Nuthatch. We observed a decrease of 37.5% in Nuthatch abundance the first spring after the fire, but the impact showed great local variation as a function of fire severity. Logistic modelling showed that the presence of Nuthatch mainly depended on the degree of crown alteration: the Nuthatch tended to be present when at least one pine had less than 2.5 m of crown burned. We have no evidence of any direct fire-induced mortality, but several effects of fire can explain this population decrease, namely, the reduction of canopy volume, the decrease of the amount of pine seeds, and the reduction of nest-site availability. These results permit us to propose a simple criterion that can help in choosing the plots to be cut where salvage logging is necessary.

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“…Currently there is an emphasis on communitybased research (e.g., Cumming and Diamond, 2002;Stuart-Smith et al, 2002;Drapeau et al, 2003). However, numerous international and national forest management organizations use indicator species for monitoring forest health (Lindenmayer, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%