Small Mammal Abundance in Mountain Big Sagebrush Communities after Fire and Vegetation Recovery

Abstract

Abstract. Managing fire for the conservation of biodiversity is a widespread challenge. An important disturbance mechanism in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities, fire has well-known effects on vegetation structure but poorly described consequences for sagebrush wildlife communities. We estimated the abundance of small mammals in relation to fire history in mountain big sagebrush (A. t. ssp. vaseyana) communities by way of a chronosequence approach that included 3 wildfires and adjacent unburned areas. We compared patterns of mammal community succession with expectations of the habitat accommodation model by associating responses of mammals to change over time in vegetation structure. Burned study sites were at various stages of vegetation succession from 7 to 19 years following fire. Shrub canopy cover ranged from 9% to 36% and was not fully recovered on the plots at 19 years after fire. Only Belding's ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) demonstrated a measurable response to fire that was...