Temperatures below leaf litter during winter prescribed burns: implications for litter-roosting bats

Abstract

Some bat species, including eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis), roost for short periods beneath leaf litter on the forest floor during winter in the south-eastern USA, a region subjected to frequent fire. The variability in fuel consumption, the heterogeneous nature of burns, and the effects of litter and duff moisture on forest-floor temperatures during winter burning could influence potential survival for bats beneath the leaf litter if they are unable to escape on-coming flames. We measured temperatures below leaf litter in 64 south-slope plots during nine controlled burns in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas to determine the probability of survival. Maximum temperature recorded under leaf litter at each plot averaged 292ºC(±20 s.e.) and ranged from 10 to 717ºC. Only three (5%) of the plots experienced temperatures that were deemed survivable (

Citation

Perry, Roger W.; McDaniel, Virginia L. 2015. Temperatures below leaf litter during winter prescribed burns: implications for litter-roosting bats. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 24(4): 544-549.