Progress 12/01/02 to 11/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: To facilitate informed management decisions regarding the effects of intensive management on wildlife habitat quality, we initiated research in 2001 to quantify tradeoffs between yield maximization of loblolly pine and management for wildlife habitat. Specifically, we investigated the effects of 6 mechanical/chemical vegetation control treatments on vegetative characteristics, and small mammal and breeding bird communities in the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Treatments consisted of various combinations of mechanical and chemical vegetation control and were selected to represent a gradient in vegetation management intensity. Six replicate blocks with 6 treatment areas were identified in summer 2001. Pre-treatment vegetative characteristics were measured during summer 2001 and site preparation treatments were applied during late summer 2001, followed by tree planting in fall-winter 2001-2002. Two of the blocks were dropped from the study after 2004 data collections
due to low survival rates of planted pines, which resulted in conditions that did not adequately represent treatments. Post-treatment responses were examined for vegetation, small mammals, and breeding birds from 2002-2007. Results from this study have been widely disseminated via scientific publications (2), theses and dissertations (2), conference presentations and symposia (10), field days (5), and continuing education workshops (13) since 2002. Information generated in this study was incorporated in training manuals provided at each of the field days and continuing education workshops. Targeted audiences at these workshops included professional foresters, wildlife biologists, and extension specialists.
PARTICIPANTS: Karl V. Miller - coPI Steven Castleberry - coPI Rebecca Mihalco - graduate student (Masters) Douglas Hohman - graduate student (doctoral) Vanessa Lane - graduate student (doctoral) N. McMillon - field technician/student intern N. Sharp - field technician/student intern J. Breaux - field technician/student intern J. Holly - field technician/student intern S. Fullington - field technician/student intern A. Skeew - field technician/student intern S. Filippelli - field technician/student intern D. Schmidt - field technician/student intern B. Ford - field technician/student intern J. Eyster - field technician/student intern J. Linehan - field technician/student intern A. Brown - field technician/student intern J. Abbaite - field technician/student intern C. Pilinich - field technician/student intern Partner Organizations: International Paper, Weyerhaeuser Company, National Council of Air and Stream Improvement Collaborators and contacts: Dr. T. B. Wigley (NCASI), Dr. D. A.
Miller (International Paper)
TARGET AUDIENCES: Targeted audiences: professional foresters, wildlife biologists, private landowners, extension specialists, graduate and undergraduate students in natural resource management Efforts: research results have been presented at numerous field days and continuing education workshops, as well as undergraduate/graduate classroom instruction. In addition, this project has provided training for 3 graduate students as well as internships or technician positions for an additional 14 undergraduates.
Impacts
Treatments with no herbicide site preparation and/or banded release (specifically treatments 1, 2, and 3) demonstrated greater small mammal capture rates and more complex small mammal communities. The banded release reduced herbaceous vegetation on the beds, however the inter-beds developed more cover and structure that probably allow species such as the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and eastern harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys humulis) to occur at greater numbers. Treatments with a broadcast release reduced herbaceous vegetation on both the beds and inter-beds resulting in simple small mammal communities dominated by Peromyscus spp. Small mammal capture rates on all treatments increased until year 3 and declined drastically in year 4 and 5. Similarly, in the first 4 years post-establishment there was a tendency for higher bird detection rates in treatments that did not receive chemical site preparation and/or received a banded chemical release. The lack of
chemical site preparation and banded chemical release tends to promote more vertical structure, providing habitat for a greater number of bird species. Thus, a similar tendency was evident for bird species richness and diversity. Generally, the number of detections has increased on all treatments over the time period examined as more vertical structure has become available. Mechanical site preparation type/bed spacing, herbicide site preparation, and release treatment application type initially affected herbaceous and woody vegetation. Treatments with shear mechanical site preparation/wide bed spacing, no chemical site preparation, and a banded release treatment tended to have greater cover of herbaceous and woody vegetation in the first 2 years post-treatment. By year 4, the trends generally were the same for woody vegetation, with cover greatest on treatments receiving no chemical site preparation and a banded release. However, herbaceous vegetation showed the opposite response by
year 4, with treatments receiving chemical site preparation and/or broadcast release having the highest percent cover. In the initial years after treatment, asters and other forbs made up a significant proportion of the total herbaceous vegetation whereas grasses dominated the herbaceous vegetation by years 3-5. This apparent reversal in treatment effects likely reflects that the more intense treatments (those receiving chemical site preparation and/or broadcast release) tended to promote more grasses which dominated the herbaceous vegetation in the later years. Because financial considerations are prompting more intensive management to accelerate pine plantation production, understanding the relationships between management intensity and wildlife habitat quality provides quantifiable decision-making knowledge which allows timberland owners to make land management decisions that optimize economic returns while giving consideration to wildlife values.
Publications
- Miller, D.A., Miller, K.V., and Wigley, T.B. 2007. Role of managed forests in conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in the Southeastern United States. Annual Meeting, The WIldlife Society, Tuscon, AZ (abstract).
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Six study sites, approximately 120 acres each, were located in the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The sites were clear-cut harvested between late 2000 and early 2001. Each site was divided into 6 treatment plots ranging from 11 to 30 acres, and each treatment plot was randomly assigned one of six treatments so that every treatment was represented on every site. Treatment components included row spacing (wide: 20 ft x 5 ft versus narrow: 10 ft x 8 ft), type of mechanical site preparation (strip shear versus roller chop), herbicide site preparation (application versus no application), and type of application of herbaceous release treatment (banded versus broadcast; Table 1). Shear mechanical site preparation was paired with the wide bed spacing, and the chop mechanical treatment was paired with the narrow bed spacing. The herbicide site preparation was a broadcast application of 48 oz Chopper/5 qts oil per acre. The herbicide site preparations were completed in
early fall of 2001 and the mechanical treatments were completed in late fall-early winter 2001. All sites were bedded in December 2001. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seedlings were either hand or machine planted in February and March of 2002. The herbaceous release treatment (4 oz of Arsenal and 2 oz of Oust per acre) was applied in early spring 2002 as either a broadcast or a banded application (5 ft width). We sampled vegetation on all sites June through September 2006 To determine the effects of the treatments on vegetation percent cover and species richness, we randomly located 10, 30-meter drip-line transects in each treatment plot. To compare vegetation on the beds versus the inter-beds, we established 4, 1-m2 quadrats along each transect with two of the quadrats on the bed and two on the inter-bed. We quantified vertical structure on each treatment using Nudds boards. The Nudds board was a 2.5 m x 0.5 m piece of plywood divided into five 0.5 m x 0.5 m colored squares. Nudds board
observations were taken at a distance of 10 m from the board and along a bed or inter-bed row. Half of the Nudds board readings were taken along Relative abundance of small mammals was measured on 10 m x 10 m trapping grids centered in each treatment. One hundred trapping stations/treatment, each containing a rat snap-trap and a mouse snap-trap (1200 traps/site), were operated for four nights in February/March 2006 (28,800 total trap nights across all treatments). Traps were baited with a combination of peanut butter and oats and were checked in the same order at approximately the same time each day. Bird surveys were conducted using a modified spot mapping technique. Six surveys were completed for each treatment among all six sites during the breeding season (May through June 2006). Surveys involved observers walking multiple 100-m transects among each treatment, while recording all birds detected. Surveys were conducted between sunrise and 1000 hours on days with winds less than
20mph and free of precipitation.
Impacts
Financial considerations are prompting more intensive management to accelerate pine plantation production. However, increased intensity can reduce habitat quality. Quantifying relatinships between pine plantation management intensity and the vegetative characteristics that affect wildlife populations and habitat quality will allow private timberland owners to make land management decisions that optimize economic returns while giving consideration to wildlife values important to citizens. Optimizing timber production while balancing public and private demands for wildlife conservation and environmental integrity is a major economic issue to thousands of non-industrial landowners throughout the Southeast.
Publications
- Hohman, D. S., R. L. Milhalco, S. B. Castleberry, and K. V. Miller. 2006. Effects of intensive pine management on deer forage in teh Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Ann. Mtg., Southeast Deer Study Group, Baton Rouge, LA 29:1.
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Six study sites, approximately 120 acres each, were located in the Lower Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The sites were clear-cut harvested between late 2000 and early 2001. Each site was divided into 6 treatment plots ranging from 11 to 30 acres, and each treatment plot was randomly assigned one of six treatments so that every treatment was represented on every site. Treatment components included row spacing (wide: 20 ft x 5 ft versus narrow: 10 ft x 8 ft), type of mechanical site preparation (strip shear versus roller chop), herbicide site preparation (application versus no application), and type of application of herbaceous release treatment (banded versus broadcast; Table 1). Shear mechanical site preparation was paired with the wide bed spacing, and the chop mechanical treatment was paired with the narrow bed spacing. The herbicide site preparation was a broadcast application of 48 oz Chopper/5 qts oil per acre. The herbicide site preparations were completed in
early fall of 2001 and the mechanical treatments were completed in late fall-early winter 2001. All sites were bedded in December 2001. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seedlings were either hand or machine planted in February and March of 2002. The herbaceous release treatment (4 oz of Arsenal and 2 oz of Oust per acre) was applied in early spring 2002 as either a broadcast or a banded application (5 ft width). We sampled vegetation on all sites June through September 2005. To determine the effects of the treatments on vegetation percent cover and species richness, we randomly located 10, 30-meter drip-line transects in each treatment plot. To compare vegetation on the beds versus the inter-beds, we established 4, 1-m2 quadrats along each transect with two of the quadrats on the bed and two on the inter-bed. We quantified vertical structure on each treatment using Nudds boards. The Nudds board was a 2.5 m x 0.5 m piece of plywood divided into five 0.5 m x 0.5 m colored squares. Nudds
board observations were taken at a distance of 10 m from the board and along a bed or inter-bed row. Half of the Nudds board readings were taken along Relative abundance of small mammals was measured on 10 m x 10 m trapping grids centered in each treatment. One hundred trapping stations/treatment, each containing a rat snap-trap and a mouse snap-trap (1200 traps/site), were operated for four nights in February/March 2004 (28,800 total trap nights across all treatments). Traps were baited with a combination of peanut butter and oats and were checked in the same order at approximately the same time each day. Bird surveys were conducted using a modified spot mapping technique. Six surveys were completed for each treatment among all six sites during the breeding season (May through June 2005). Surveys involved observers walking multiple 100-m transects among each treatment, while recording all birds detected. Surveys were conducted between sunrise and 1000 hours on days with winds less
than 20mph and free of precipitation.
Impacts
Financial considerations are prompting more intensive management to accelerate pine plantation production. However, increased intensity can reduce habitat quality. Quantifying relatinships between pine plantation management intensity and the vegetative characteristics that affect wildlife populations and habitat quality will allow private timberland owners to make land management decisions that optimize economic returns while giving consideration to wildlife values important to citizens. Optimizing timber production while balancing public and private demands for wildlife conservation and environmental integrity is a major economic issue to thousands of non-industrial landowners throughout the Southeast.
Publications
- Mihalco, R. L. 2004 The effects of regeneration management in pine plantations on vegetation, small mammal, and avian communities on teh Coastal Plain of North Carolina. M.S. Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens 109pp.
- Constantine, N. L., T. A. Campbell, W. M. Baughman, T. B. Harrington, and K. V. Miller. 2005. Small mammal distribution relative to corridor edges within intensively managed southern pine plantations. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 29(3):148-151.
- Miller, K. V. 2005. Forestry herbicides and wildlife habitat in southern forests. Pages 32-40 in: Proceedings of the 25th Forest Vegetation Management Conference, Redding, CA
- Miller, K. V. and J. H. Miller. 2004. Forestry herbicide influences on biodiversity and wildlife habitat in southern forests. Wildlife Society Bulletin 32(4):1049-1060.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
no report
Impacts
no impact
Publications
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