Responses of a small-mammal community to habitat management through controlled burning in a protected Mediterranean area

Abstract

Fire is widely used as a management tool to achieve conservation goals. However, the consequences of such management on non-target species are frequently neglected and unknown. This study examines the effects of traditional management practices of scrubland clearance by controlled burning to improve menaced carnivores on non-target species: rodent and insectivores in Doñana National Park (SW of Iberian Peninsula). We used capture–recapture methods to examine changes in abundance in areas that were burnt one and three years ago, compared with unburnt areas. Results showed that burnt areas had higher species abundances, but mainly on the ecotonal boundaries. Species abundances showed dramatic seasonal differences with high abundances in autumn and winter, and very low abundance in summer. Our study revealed that scrubland management by controlled fires increases the abundance of small mammal species, mainly Mus spretus and Apodemus sylvaticus. We found only four small mammal species between the different treatments. However, some species that were formerly abundant in Doñana, such as Elyomis quercinus, were found only in burnt areas. Our results suggest that controlled burning is not contributing to the current loss of biotic diversity in this community.