Vegetation and Avian Response to Oak Savanna Restoration in the Mid-South USA

Barrioz, Seth A.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Buckley, David S.; Buehler, David A.; Harper, Craig A.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-169.1.194

Cited by 25 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Salvage cutting began in 2002, followed by TWRA-implemented oak savanna restoration using prescribed fire. The rapid development of common prairie and savanna flora and historical accounts (i.e., pasturing cattle and frequent fires) provided evidence of past woodland and savanna occurrence at our site (Barrioz et al 2013).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Declines in disturbance‐dependent birds can be linked to changing vegetation structure as succession proceeds in the absence of disturbance (Askins ). Invading woody plants decrease light infiltration, which can reduce or eliminate herbaceous groundcover (Hutchinson et al , Barrioz et al , McCord et al ). Woodlands and savannas are eventually replaced by closed‐canopy forests that lack structural heterogeneity in the overstory and midstory layers (Bowles and McBride , Breshears ).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Avifaunal response to restoration is species-specific (Davis et al 2000, Brawn 2006, Au et al 2008), but in general increasing disturbance increases the presence of early-successional species. Residual woodland and savanna trees left after partial overstory removal allow late-successional avifauna to persist, though often at reduced densities (Dickson et al 1995, Gram et al 2003, Barrioz et al 2013, Holoubek and Jensen 2015. Fire also can shift avian species composition (Davis et al 2000, Greenberg et al 2007, Grundel and Pavlovic 2007b and creates snags important for cavity nesting species (Brawn et al 2001, Lanham et al 2002, Harper et al 2016.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Avian occupancy response to oak woodland and savanna restoration

et al. 2016

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Oak (Quercus spp.) woodlands and savannas throughout the Mid-South, USA have become closed-canopy forests through succession in the absence of fire, contributing to declines in disturbancedependent avian species. Restoration could ameliorate these trends, but effects of such management practices on avian communities of the Mid-South are poorly understood. We implemented an experiment on the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee with treatments involving fall (Oct) or spring (Mar) fire with woodland (14 m 2 /ha) or savanna (7 m 2 /ha) residual basal area and unmanaged control stands (20 ha each). We conducted fixed-radius point counts 3 times annually (2010)(2011)(2012) and analyzed trends in na€ ıve occupancy for 41 species. For 20 species with adequate data (10 early-, 10 late-successional), we performed multipleseason, robust-design occupancy modeling and accounted for detection bias. We then used mixed-model polynomial regression to define relationships between occupancy and measures of live and dead basal area, midstory density, and herbaceous groundcover. Restoration substantially altered forest structural characteristics but did not affect the occupancy of most late-successional species. In contrast, the presence of early-successional species increased as live basal area decreased and herbaceous groundcover increased. Only 3 of 41 species (hooded warbler [Setophaga citrina], ovenbird [Seiurus aurocapilla], and worm-eating warbler [Helmitheros vermivorum]) exhibited reduced occupancy as woodland and savanna conditions were approached. The presence of all other species, including 13 regionally and 2 continentally declining, remained constant or increased as restoration progressed. Woodland conditions of 10 m 2 /ha live basal area and 20% herbaceous groundcover maximized occupancy of early-successional species with little consequences for latesuccessional species. Proceeding further toward savanna conditions negatively affected species associated with lower strata of mature-forests but further increased the presence of some early-successional species. Midstory density and dead basal area were poor predictors of occupancy and thus may be necessary but not sufficient in promoting early-successional species. Our results suggest implementing oak woodland and savanna management in the Mid-South could benefit disturbance-dependent birds of high conservation priority with minimal negative impacts on the presence of late-successional species. Ó

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Avian occupancy response to oak woodland and savanna restoration

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“…A further consideration is the composition of habitat, as this can affect the mix of resources available to different species (Moir et al 2005(Moir et al , 2010Gibb & Cunningham 2009;Barton et al 2013). Plantings of trees take many years to develop and acquire the resources found in mature vegetation (Vesk et al 2008;Barrioz et al 2013). They thus present a dynamic habitat that changes in suitability to different species over time (Gibb & Cunningham 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does wing morphology affect recolonization of restored farmland by ground‐dwelling beetles?

Gibb

Retter

Cunningham

et al. 2016

Restoration Ecology

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Revegetation of previously cleared land is widely used to increase habitat area and connectivity of remnant vegetation for biodiversity conservation. Whether new habitat attracts or supports fauna depends on the dispersal traits of those fauna as well as the structure and composition of the surrounding landscape. Here, we examined wing morphology as a key dispersal trait for beetles in a revegetated landscape and asked, first, how it was related to phylogeny (family), trophic position, and body size. Second, we asked if wing morphology of recolonizing (or persisting) beetles varied with habitat characteristics at multiple scales, from microhabitat to landscape context. Third, we examined how common winged and wingless species responded to habitat at multiple scales. We measured the wing morphology of ground‐dwelling beetles from a restoration chronosequence, including paddocks, “young” revegetation (8–11 years old), “old” revegetation (14–19 years old), and fenced remnant vegetation. We found that body size and family membership were significant predictors of winglessness, with wingless species of carabids and curculionids being larger than their winged counterparts. We found no difference in the number of sites occupied by winged and wingless species, and no relationship between the wing morphology traits represented in different locations and habitat characteristics or landscape context. Furthermore, the most abundant species of both winged and wingless ground‐dwelling beetles had relatively little affinity to any habitat successional stage. Thus, despite intrinsic differences in wing morphology among species of ground‐dwelling beetle, we found no evidence that flight‐related dispersal limitations influenced recolonization (or persistence) in this landscape.

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“…Nelson 2005, Mabry et al 2010, are also home to several declining species(Sauer et al 2014. Accordingly, Midwestern savanna contains both a grassland and woodland component(McPherson 1997, Anderson et al 1999, and it provides breeding habitat for scrub-shrub birds in addition to many open-woodland species(Davis et al 2000, Brawn 2006, Barrioz et al 2013). Information on woodland, savanna, and scrub-shrub birds should prove especially useful in the conservation of Neotropical migrant songbirds(Stotz et al 1996), a nationally declining group that is also well-represented in many of Iowa's woodlands and second-growth habitats (Teaming with Wildlife 2015, U.S.…”

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Local and landscape effects on population dynamics of birds and butterflies in Iowa

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Vegetation and Avian Response to Oak Savanna Restoration in the Mid-South USA

Cited by 25 publications

References 44 publications

Avian occupancy response to oak woodland and savanna restoration

Avian occupancy response to oak woodland and savanna restoration

Does wing morphology affect recolonization of restored farmland by ground‐dwelling beetles?

Local and landscape effects on population dynamics of birds and butterflies in Iowa

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