Pine-grassland Birds and the Effects of Fire Frequency, Seasonality, and Scale

2. Pine-grassland Birds and the Effects of Fire Frequency, Seasonality, and Scale Jim Cox Tall Timbers Research Station

5. Pine-grassland forests in Florida support more species of breeding birds per acre than hardwood-dominated forests

7. Frequency Season Scale

8. Frequency Season Scale

9. NB-66 Fire suppression for 40 years 1966 Loblolly-shortleaf 1981 Water oak, sweetgum, pine 2001

10. Bird Counts on NB66: 1966-1983

11. Breeding birds on NB66 (1965-2010) 1966 1981

12. Fire Frequency and Bachman’s Sparrow Trend -2.3%

13. Nest Site Selection 43 nests in areas burned <10 months 4 nests in areas burned >18 months

14. Changes in % bare ground with time since burn Bare Ground Bare Ground %

15. Changes in % bare ground with time since burn Bare Ground % Nests

16. 6 Months Post-burn 18 Months Post-burn

17. Burn frequencies optimal for some species may seem extreme Eastern Meadowlark Florida BBS trend: -5.45% per year

19. Meadowlark Trends on Wade Tract

20. RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER Cavities excavated only in living pine trees Requires large areas of mature (>90 yrs) pine forests (BA 40-80+) Requires frequent (≤ 3 year) burning.

21. Greater diversity of arboreal ants on sites burned ≤3 year Red-cockaded Woodpecker

25. Higher Frequency Improves Nest Productivity • Higher frequency burning puts more calcium into food cycle. • Larger clutches laid in first year after a fire regardless of season.

27. Global Population <95,000 Winters throughout southeastern pinelands (Oct – Apr) Henslow’s Sparrow

28. Florida Grasshopper Sparrow and Migratory Grasshopper Sparrow

29. Burn class = number of growing seasons post-burn M. Korosy , UCF dissertation

30. Frequency: <3 year return intervals best meet needs of declining pine-grassland birds

31. Frequency Season Scale

32. Summer Burns Help to Control Thickets on Apalachicola National Forest

33. Thickets 1992 Thickets 2008

35. Bare Ground % Two-year return interval Nests

36. Return of Breeding Birds Following a Late May Burn 12 ha study area 70 ha burn block burned 5/28/2003 4 surveys prior to burn 9 surveys conducted after burn (1 visit every 5-7 days )

37. Northern Bobwhite Abundance Effect Coefficient Std Error CONSTANT 0.400 1.418 REG 1.368 0.638 ANOVA Source SS df MS F-ratio P Regression 35.4 1 35.4 3.3 0.06 Residual 118.8 11 10.8 Pre Week1-3 Week4-6 Week6+

39. Winter Bachman’s Sparrow Abundance Wade Tract Wade Tract Burns

40. Tall Timbers Fire Plots Established in 1958 Can Early Season Burns Get the Job Done? 2 Year Interval 1 Year Interval 40 Years No Fire 3 Year Interval

42. …where nearly everyone nests on the ground

43. Effects of burn season on breeding birds may be different… Nesting season Winter burns Growing season burns

44. Don’t rush to mimic Mother Nature

45. Frequency Season Scale

46. “…burn at the smallest scale possible to improve bobwhite survival and productivity.” Wellendorf and Palmer 2006

47. Autumn Bobwhite Densities on Large- & Small-scale Burn Plots

48. 25 acre 50 acre 100 acre Growing season Dormant season

49. Quail Productivity

50. Quail Abundance