Fire, herbicide, and chainsaw felling effects on arthropods in fire-suppressed longleaf pine sandhills at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

Abstract

Experimentally evaluating the success of hardwood reduction techniques against a "model" reference condition of longleaf pine sandhill communities is not directly possible because reference sites are not randomized or replicated. We addressed this issue by measuring the similarity of arthropods in treatment (fire, herbicide, felling/girdling, and control) and reference sites using three indices. Arthropod assemblages from plots that burned were significantly more similar to those in the reference condition than were those that did not receive fire. Our findings suggest that increasing arthropod prey using fire will be beneficial both to management and to biodiversity.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings: the role of fire for nongame wildlife management and community restoration: traditional uses and new directions

Citation

Provencher, Louis; Galley, Krista E. M.; Litt, Andrea R.; Gordon, Doria R.; Brennan, Leonard A.; Tanner, George W.; Hardesty, Jeffrey L. 2002. Fire, herbicide, and chainsaw felling effects on arthropods in fire-suppressed longleaf pine sandhills at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. In: Ford, W. Mark; Russell, Kevin R.; Moorman, Christopher E., eds. Proceedings: the role of fire for nongame wildlife management and community restoration: traditional uses and new directions. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-288. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 24-33.