U.S. Joint Fire Science Program

 

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

Fire Science Brief, Issue 76, November 2009

Comments

US government work.

Abstract

Some studies of wildlife response after fire have shown that habitat condition during the years immediately following fire are very important for many species. Because of this, it’s important for managers to have full knowledge of the shortterm effects of salvage logging on wildlife. This short-term study looked at the effects of different intensities of post-fire salvage logging on bat activity, population densities of breeding songbirds and small mammal abundance. The project took place on the 2003 Davis Lake Fire in central Oregon during the second and third years following fire. Although there were some exceptions, results generally showed that differences in logging intensity did not alter impacts on species that were negatively affected by salvage. Small mammal populations were not significantly impacted by salvage logging, while bats were more active in more intensely logged (open) sites. Negative impacts on bird populations were mitigated somewhat by retention of small islands of unlogged snags within logged areas.

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