using birds to guide post-fire management in the plumas & lassen national forests

Using Birds to Guide Post-fire Management in the Plumas & Lassen National Forests

Ryan D. Burnett, Nathaniel Seavy, and Diana Humple4/21/2011

PRBO Conservation Science

Study Objectives

• Assess the influence of post-fire conditions on spatial and temporal variation in landbird populations

- diversity and abundance of a suite of landbird species - woodpecker cavity use - linking avian metrics with habitat conditions at multiple

spatial scales

• Inform forest management decisions to promote diverse and resilient forest ecosystems across multiple spatial scales


Study Sites


Fire Age, Size, Patch Size, and Severity Varies

Cub ~15,000 acres – Summer 2008 12% High Severity

Moonlight ~ 66,000 acresSummer 2007 56.5% high severity

Storrie ~”52,000” acres – Fall 200028% high severity


Site Selection

• Random Stratified sample (public

land, slope<40 percent, 1km from road or trail, 1500m between starting points)

• Sample size per fire based on accessible area

• 17 Storrie Fire Transects (4 private)

• 32 Moonlight Fire Transects (6 private)

• 13 Cub Fire Transects (0 private)


Sampling Transect

Five exact distance point count surveys per transect2-4 hour cavity nest search of 20ha plot


Habitat Surveys

• 50m radius vegetation surveys at each point count station

• 11.3m radius snag plot at each nest, point count station, and 5 random locations – DBH, decay class, tree species, scorch height, etc.

• Classified Severity Using Composite Burn Index

Point Count Stations & Random Snag Plot - example


Storrie Greatest Diversity and Abundance


Riparian Areas Serve as Refugia on Private Land

Species Richness Total Bird Abundance0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Private Land Upland vs. Riparian Sites

RiparianUpland

# pe

r poi

nt c

ount

sta

tion


Avian Abundance Varies by Severity & Fire

<0.1 0.1 - 0.5 0.5 - 1.0 1.0 - 1.5 1.5 - 2 2.0 - 2.5 2.5 - 30

1

2

3

4

5

6

Storrie Total Bird Abundance

Burn Severity (Composite Burn Index)

Dete

ctio

ns/P

oint

Cou

nt V

isit

<.1 .1 - 0.5 .51 - 1.0 1.01 - 1.5

1.51 - 2 2.01 - 2.5

2.5 - 30123456

Moonlight Total Bird Abundance


Dete

ctio

ns/P

oint

Cou

nt V

isit

<.1 .1 - 0.5 .51 - 1.0 1.01 - 1.5

1.51 - 2 2.01 - 2.5

2.5 - 30

1

2

3

4

5

Cub Total Bird Abundance


Dete

ctio

ns/P

oint

Cou

nt V

isit


Nest Tree Size Varies by Woodpecker Species


Most Species Select for Broken Tops


All Species Selecting for Dead & Decaying Trees

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8


Black-backed Woodpecker Nest Sites = High Snag Densities ~277/ha (111/acre)

Por

porti

on (+

/- C

I )

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Black-backed WoodpeckerAll nests (N = 19, p < 0.001)Cub nests (N = 10, p < 0.001)Moonlight nests (N = 9, p = 0.006)Available (N = 247,114,133)

Sel

ectio

n ra

tios

(+/-

CI )

0

1

2

3

4

5

< 4 snags per plot 4-8 snags per plot > 8 snags per plot


Black-backed Woodpecker Use = Very High Snag Densities beyond the micro-nest site

Mean Snag Density across 20ha plots with BBWO Nests

Mean Snag Density within 11.3m of BBWO nests


Post-fire habitat is Unique & Heterogeneous


Early Successional - Disturbance Dependent Species left out in the rain

Regression Coefficient

← Decrease in Owl Habitat Increase in Owl Habitat →

http://media.wildernesscommittee.org/uploads/photo-spotted-owl..jpggp7u03.jpg


Early Seral & Habitat Mosaics

R2=0.21, p<0.0001

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

% Shrub/Brush within a 500m radius

Fox

Spar

row

Abu

ndan

ce (p

redi

cted

)

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Edge Density within a 1000m radius (Contrast Weighted m/ha)

Oliv

e-si

ded

Flyc

atch

er A

bund

ance

(pre

dict

ed)


Conclusions

• Post-fire habitat – including areas that burned at high severity – are an important component of the ecosystem necessary for maintaining biological diversity in the Sierra Nevada

• Time since fire & fire severity both appear to influence avian community

• Post-fire salvaged areas on private land support significantly less diverse and abundant avian community

• Existing snags on the landscape (prior to fire) are important resource for cavity nesting birds the first 3 to 5 years post-fire

• Black-backed Woodpecker are nesting in areas with very high snag densities (100 – 300 per acre)


Future Direction

• Temporal & spatial effects of fire severity on bird diversity, abundance, and cavity use

• Spatially explicit habitat suitability models to help guide future post-fire management

• Compare bird assemblages between green forest and post-fire habitat with and without treatments


Bird Response to Commercial DFPZ Harvest

• 122 points treated with DFPZs (only) 2005 – 2009

• Lassen and Plumas National Forests

• 122 reference points selected using cladogram to determine most appropriate reference for each treated sites


Cladogram to Select Reference Sites


Analysis

• Dependent variables: abundance of 15 focal species, total bird abundance, & species richness

• Data from 2004-2010• Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) with Poisson

distributions • Controlled for random effects (point, year, transect)

• Compared:-reference to pre-treatment-year-since-treatment to reference sites-year-since-treatment to pre-treatment sites


Preliminary Results


Four main uses of the website:

1) view project results through ‘packaged’ analyses

2) view study locations and presence/absence on a map

3) download raw data (survey results and locations)

4) Access reports, publications, and other literature

Sierra Nevada Avian Monitoring Information Network


Thank You!

Plumas & Lassen National ForestsH.F. Quincy Library Group Monitoring ProgramPSW SNRC – Peter StineResources Legacy FundField Crew:Paul Taillie, Mel Preston, Tiffany Russell, Brendan McGarry, Jason St. Pierre, Meghan Horne-Brine, Alicia Arcidiacono, Simone Cook, Joe Michael, Doug Zimmerman

using birds to guide post-fire management in the plumas & lassen national forests

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