Soricid response to coarse woody debris manipulations in Coastal Plain loblolly pine forests.
Authors:
Moseley, Kurtis R. Owens, Audrey K. Castleberry, Steven B. Ford, W. Mark Kilgo, John C. McCay, Timothy S. USDA, FS
Source:
Forest ecology and management. 2008 Apr. 20, v. 255, no. 7 [Amsterdam]: Elsevier Science, p. 2306-2311.
NALT Subjects:
shrews Soricidae coarse woody debris coniferous forests coastal plains Pinus taeda snags seasonal variation forest plantations habitat preferences microclimate population dynamics Southeastern United States
Other Subjects:
Sorex longirostris Blarina carolinensis capture rates Cryptotis parva
Issue Date:
20-Apr-2008
Abstract:
We assessed shrew (soricids) response to coarse woody debris (CWD) manipulations in managed upland loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands in the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina over multiple years and seasons. Using a completely randomized block design, we assigned one of the following treatments to 12, 9.3-ha plots: removal (n =3; all CWD>=10cm in diameter and >=60cm long removed), downed (n =3; 5-fold increase in volume of down CWD), snag (n =3; 12-fold increase in standing dead CWD), and control (n =3; unmanipulated). Therein, we sampled shrews during winter, spring, and summer seasons, 2003-2005, using drift-fence pitfall arrays. During 1680 drift-fence plot nights we captured 253 Blarina carolinensis, 154 Sorex longirostris, and 51 Cryptotis parva. Blarina carolinensis capture rate was greater in control than in snag treatments. Sorex longirostris capture rate was lower in removal than downed and control plots in 2005 whereas C. parva capture rate did not differ among treatments. Overall, the CWD input treatments failed to elicit the positive soricid response we had expected. Lack of a positive response by soricid populations to our downed treatments may be attributable to the early CWD decay stage within these plots or an indication that within fire-adapted pine-dominated systems of the Southeast, reliance on CWD is less than in other forest types.
