Table 2 Recommendations and considerations when burning for various wildlife species or taxonomic groups in the Central Hardwoods and Appalachian Forest regions.
From: Fire Effects on Wildlife in the Central Hardwoods and Appalachian Regions, USA
Species or taxonomic group | Recommended fire prescription | Considerations or concerns | Key citations related to habitat requirements and wildlife response |
|---|---|---|---|
Understory-nesting songbirds | Low-intensity fire on 5 yr to 7 yr return interval in mature hardwoods | Avoid burning large, contiguous areas during nesting from April through July | Stribling and Barron 1995; Greenberg et al. 2007; McCord et al. 2014 |
Open-canopy songbirds | Low- to moderate-intensity fire within a 6 yr to 7 yr return interval to maintain habitat in existing woodlands | Moderate- to high-intensity fire required to develop habitat where closed canopy conditions exist and silvicultural treatment is not implemented | Wilson et al. 1995; Blake 2004; Bakermans et al. 2012; Barrioz et al. 2013 |
Shrubland songbirds | Late dormant-season fire on a 3 yr to 5 yr return interval in areas with considerable shrub cover | Avoid burning large, contiguous areas during nesting from April through July; burning just prior to green-up maintains cover for wintering sparrows | Wilson et al. 1995; Hunter et al. 2001; Thatcher et al. 2006 |
Grassland songbirds | Dormant- or late growing-season fire on a 1 yr to 3 yr return interval in grasslands that meet area constraints of grassland birds | Avoid burning large, contiguous areas during nesting from April through July; burning just prior to green-up maintains cover for wintering sparrows; late growing-season fire may help reduce woody encroachment | |
Northern bobwhite | Late dormant-season or early growing-season fire on a 2 yr to 4 yr return interval in early successional communities and oak-pine savannas | Most nesting occurs after April; maintaining shrub cover in close proximity in a relatively open landscape is critical | |
Wild turkey | Low- to moderate-intensity fire on a 3 yr to 5 yr return interval | Avoid burning large, contiguous units during nesting and brood-rearing (April to June) | McCord et al. 2014 |
Ruffed grouse | Low-intensity dormant-season fire on a 6 yr to 8 yr return interval in mature oak-hickory; moderate-intensity dormant-season fire on 15 yr to 20 yr return interval in young forest stands | Avoid burning large, contiguous units during nesting and brood-rearing (April through June) | |
White-tailed deer | Low- to moderate intensity dormant- or late growing-season fire on 3- to 5-yr return interval | Avoid burning during fawning season (May to June); fire effects will be minimal under closed canopy conditions unless fire intensity is great enough to kill some trees and allow light into the stand | Lashley et al. 2011 |
Bats | Low-intensity dormant- or late growing-season fire on 5 yr to 7 yr return interval | Higher-intensity fires may create snags used as roosting sites; lower-intensity fires reduce clutter for foraging bats | Boyles and Aubrey 2006; Johnson et al. 2009; Johnson et al. 2010; Perry 2012; Ford et al. 2015; Silvis et al. 2016 |
Reptiles | Dormant-season fire in early successional communities, savannas, and woodlands | Avoid early growing-season burning near known snake hibernacula when snakes are emerging | Moseley et al. 2003; Keyser et al. 2004; Greenberg and Waldrop 2008; Matthews et al. 2010 |
Amphibians | Dormant-season fire | Canopy reduction from fire-induced tree mortality and leaflitter removal reduces habitat quality for salamanders for at least 1 yr post fire; canopy reduction at woodland vernal pools increases Anuran diversity | Renken 2006; Ford et al. 2010; Matthews et al. 2010; O’Donnell et al. 2015 |