Abstract
Balancing timber production and conservation in forest management requires an understanding of how timber harvests affect wildlife species. Terrestrial salamanders are useful indicators of mature forest ecosystem health due to their importance to ecosystem processes and sensitivity to environmental change. However, the effects of timber harvests on salamanders, though often researched, are still not well understood. To further this understanding, we used artificial cover objects to monitor the relative abundance of terrestrial salamanders for two seasons (fall and spring) pre-harvest and five seasons post-harvest in six forest management treatments, and for three seasons post-harvest across the edge gradients of six recent clearcuts. In total, we recorded 19,048 encounters representing nine species of salamanders. We observed declines in mean encounters of eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) and northern slimy salamanders (P. glutinosus) from pre- to post-harvest in group selection cuts and in clearcuts. However, we found no evidence of salamander declines at shelterwoods and forested sites adjacent to harvests. Edge effects induced by recent clearcuts influenced salamanders for approximately 20 m into the forest, but edge influence varied by slope orientation. Temperature, soil moisture, and canopy cover were all correlated with salamander counts. Our results suggest silvicultural techniques that remove the forest canopy negatively affect salamander relative abundance on the local scale during the years immediately following harvest, and that the depth of edge influence of clearcuts on terrestrial salamanders is relatively shallow (<20 m). Small harvests (<4 ha) and techniques that leave the forest canopy intact may be compatible with maintaining terrestrial salamander populations across a forested landscape. Our results demonstrate the importance of examining species-specific responses and monitoring salamanders across multiple seasons and years. Long-term monitoring will be necessary to understand the full impacts of forest management on terrestrial salamanders.
Highlights
Forest management in the US has traditionally focused on the production of timber, but recent decades have seen a shift toward ecosystem-based management, an approach that seeks to balance timber production with the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological function [1,2,3]
2608.66 na na Models were run in program PRESENCE to estimate abundance l and detection probability p for repeated count data during the pre-harvest (Pre) and postharvest (Post) treatment periods at harvest effect grids for eastern red-backed (Plethodon cinereus), northern zigzag (P. dorsalis), and northern slimy (P. glutinosus) salamanders
Models were run in program PRESENCE to estimate abundance l and detection probability p for repeated count data from edge effect grids for eastern redbacked (Plethodon cinereus), northern zigzag (P. dorsalis), and northern slimy (P. glutinosus) salamanders
Summary
Forest management in the US has traditionally focused on the production of timber, but recent decades have seen a shift toward ecosystem-based management, an approach that seeks to balance timber production with the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological function [1,2,3] This approach requires knowledge of how forest systems respond to different management techniques [2, 4]. Relatively abundant, and occur in high densities in the eastern United States, with estimates surpassing two per square meter in some forested regions [16,17,18,19] Their physiology, small home range and limited dispersal capability make terrestrial salamanders sensitive to changes in physical factors such as temperature, humidity, and soil moisture that are commonly altered by forest management [2, 16, 20]. Terrestrial salamanders are considered indicators of mature forest ecosystem health [16] and are an ideal taxon to monitor before and after habitat disturbance
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