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Effects of prescribed burning on breeding birds in a ponderosa pine forest, southeastern Arizona

A moderately intense, broadcast, understory, prescribed burn in 3 previously unburned ponderosa pine stands in southeastern Arizona felled or consumed 50% of all ponderosa pine snags ≥ 15 cm dbh. Large moderately decayed snags were most susceptible to burning. Large snags in the early stages of decay were preferred as nest sites by cavity-nesting birds. Numbers of live woody plants were reduced by 40%, mortality was greatest among shrubs and small trees. Canopy volume was reduced by 19%, the greatest impact was below 5 m. No species of cavity-nesting birds, or birds that associated with understory vegetation disappeared in the first season after burning, but 3 species decreased, and 1 species increased in abundance. The minor impacts of a single treatment with broadcast understory burning on bird populations will be ephemeral, but a repeated burns could have greater, and more lasting effects on the avian community.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/276570
Date January 1987
CreatorsHorton, Scott Patterson, 1951-
PublisherThe University of Arizona.
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)
RightsCopyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.

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