Transcript Terrestrial Bird module

Using Birds to Guide Post-fire Management in the
Plumas & Lassen National Forests
Ryan D. Burnett, Nathaniel Seavy, and Diana Humple
4/21/2011
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Study Sites
PRBO Conservation Science
Fire Age, Size, Patch Size, and Severity Varies
Moonlight ~ 66,000 acres
Cub ~15,000 acres –
Summer 2008
Summer 2007
56.5% high severity
12% High Severity
Storrie ~”52,000” acres
– Fall 2000
28% high severity
PRBO Conservation Science
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)
PRBO Conservation Science
Sampling Transect
Five exact distance point count surveys per transect
2-4 hour cavity nest search of 20ha plot
PRBO Conservation Science
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Storrie Greatest Diversity and Abundance
PRBO Conservation Science
Riparian Areas Serve as Refugia on Private Land
Private Land
Upland vs. Riparian Sites
8
7
# per point count station
6
5
Riparian
4
Upland
3
2
1
0
Species Richness
Total Bird Abundance
PRBO Conservation Science
Avian Abundance Varies by Severity & Fire
Detections/Point Count Visit
Cub Total Bird Abundance
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
<.1
.1 - 0.5 .51 - 1.0 1.01 - 1.5 1.51 - 2 2.01 - 2.5 2.5 - 3
Burn Severity (Composite Burn Index)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
<0.1
0.1 - 0.5 0.5 - 1.0 1.0 - 1.5 1.5 - 2 2.0 - 2.5 2.5 - 3
Burn Severity (Composite Burn Index)
Moonlight Total Bird Abundance
Detections/Point Count Visit
Detections/Point Count Visit
Storrie Total Bird Abundance
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
<.1
.1 - 0.5 .51 - 1.0 1.01 - 1.51 - 2 2.01 1.5
2.5
Burn Severity (Composite Burn Index)
2.5 - 3
PRBO Conservation Science
Nest Tree Size Varies by Woodpecker Species
PRBO Conservation Science
Most Species Select for Broken Tops
PRBO Conservation Science
All Species Selecting for Dead & Decaying Trees
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
PRBO Conservation Science
Black-backed Woodpecker Nest Sites = High Snag Densities
~277/ha (111/acre)
Black-backed Woodpecker
Porportion (+/- CI )
1.0
0.8
All 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)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
Selection ratios (+/- CI )
5
4
3
2
1
0
< 4 snags per plot
4-8 snags per plot
> 8 snags per plot
PRBO Conservation Science
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Post-fire habitat is Unique & Heterogeneous
PRBO Conservation Science
Early Successional - Disturbance Dependent Species left out
in the rain
← Decrease in Owl Habitat
Increase in Owl Habitat →
Regression Coefficient
PRBO Conservation Science
Early Seral & Habitat Mosaics
8
0.5
Fox Sparrow Abundance (predicted)
Olive-sided Flycatcher Abundance (predicted)
0.6
R2=0.21, p<0.0001
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Edge Density within a 1000m radius (Contrast Weighted m/ha)
60
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
% Shrub/Brush within a 500m radius
40
45
50
PRBO Conservation Science
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)
PRBO Conservation Science
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
PRBO Conservation Science
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Cladogram to Select Reference Sites
PRBO Conservation Science
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Preliminary Results
PRBO Conservation Science
Sierra Nevada Avian Monitoring Information Network
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
PRBO Conservation Science
Thank You!
Plumas & Lassen National Forests
H.F. Quincy Library Group Monitoring Program
PSW SNRC – Peter Stine
Resources Legacy Fund
Field Crew:
Paul Taillie, Mel Preston, Tiffany Russell, Brendan
McGarry, Jason St. Pierre, Meghan Horne-Brine,
Alicia Arcidiacono, Simone Cook, Joe Michael, Doug
Zimmerman