Do golf courses reduce the ecological value of headwater streams for salamanders in the southern Appalachian Mountains?

Abstract

Recent studies indicate golf courses may have a potential role in biodiversity conservation and management in human dominated landscapes. To serve this ecological role, effects of current golf course management practices must first be better understood. We sampled larval, juvenile, and adult stream salamanders in transects located upstream, through, and downstream of managed fairways of 10 golf courses in western North Carolina, USA. We measured in-stream and riparian habitat characteristics and tested for nitrate and pesticide chemicals to explain trends in salamander abundances and diversity. Stream transects located directly on fairways contained lower abundance of larval, metamorph, juvenile, and adult salamanders than either upstream or downstream transects. The species diversity of aquatic larval and metamorph salamanders on fairways was also reduced but only compared to the upstream transects, and terrestrial juvenile and adult diversity did not differ among the three transect locations. Our analysis found that leaf litter depth, CWD, soil moisture, and buffer width parameters found within several models were positive predictors of salamander abundance and diversity. Nitrate was not detected at any of the stream reaches and two of the 16 pesticide chemicals screened were only detected in negligible proportions. Our findings suggest golf courses in western North Carolina can currently provide viable habitat for stream salamanders in reaches upstream and downstream of managed areas of courses and streams running through fairways may be enhanced through simple management practices such as retaining woody debris, leaf litter, and restoring a riparian buffer.