Fire and fuel management considerations for aquatic-riparian amphibians
| Authors: | Deanna H. Olson, Chris D. Cousins |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Pacific Northwest Research Station |
| Source: | In: Wright, Vita; Keville, Megan, tech eds. Wildland fire and fuels science synthesis: supporting landscape and community resilience in the Pacific Northwest. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-1044. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. |
Abstract
We identify at-risk amphibians tied to aquatic-riparian habitats in U.S. Pacific Northwest forests for fire-management considerations and synthesize amphibian ecology and fire- and forest-management effects to provide guidance for sustainability of these amphibians during prefire fuel management, active wildfire management, and postfire management activities. We focus on seven amphibian groups that have both state-scale sensitive-species status and modeled viability concerns in regional moist coniferous forests. Chief concerns from both fire and fire management activities for these animals are loss of overstory forest-canopy closure that affects microclimate and microhabitat conditions on the forest floor, and ground disturbances affecting amphibian riparian and stream habitat integrity including the likelihood of postfire erosion and debris flows affecting streams. We provide examples of streamside riparian buffers that could be applied in prefire, during fire, and postfire management contexts and identify research gaps for this wildlife group related to fire effects and fire management.
This chapter is part of a larger synthesis; additional chapters will be published as completed. When all chapters are finished, the entire synthesis will be published as general technical report PNW-GTR-1044.