Document

Title

Short-term responses of red squirrels to prescribed burning in the interior Pacific Northwest, USA
Document Type: Journal Article
Author(s): Robin E. Russell; John F. Lehmkuhl; Stephen T. Buckland; Victoria A. Saab
Publication Year: 2010

Cataloging Information

Keyword(s):
  • Amelanchier alnifolia
  • before-after control-impact
  • coniferous forests
  • cover
  • Festuca idahoensis
  • fire hazard reduction
  • fire management
  • forest management
  • fuel loading
  • fuel reduction
  • Idaho
  • Idaho
  • low intensity burns
  • Picea mariana
  • Pinus banksiana
  • Pinus ponderosa
  • point counts
  • ponderosa pine
  • population density
  • Populus tremuloides
  • Prunus
  • Pseudoroegneria
  • shrubs
  • size classes
  • small mammals
  • Spiraea
  • statistical analysis
  • Symphoricarpos albus
  • Tamiasciurus
  • Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
  • Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
  • trees
  • understory vegetation
  • Washington
  • Washington
  • wildlife
  • wildlife habitat management
Topic(s):
Region(s):
Record Maintained By:
TTRS Staff; https://talltimbers.org/contact-us
Record Last Modified: October 4, 2022
FRAMES Record Number: 48558
Tall Timbers Record Number: 24721
TTRS Location Status: In-file
TTRS Call Number: Journals-J
TTRS Abstract Status: Fair use, Okay, Reproduced by permission

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.

Description

We quantified changes in density of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in response to prescribed fire in mixed coniferous forests of Idaho and Washington, USA, using a Before-After-Control-Impact design. We found no evidence that low-severity prescribed fires affected density of red squirrels; we estimated the change in red squirrel densities due to prescribed fire as 20.15 squirrels/ha (95% CI = 5 -0.405-0.105). Squirrel density did, however, increase with increasing live tree density, shrub cover, and density of large downed logs, and varied across years and states. These results indicate that land managers implementing prescribed fire treatments to reduce fuel loads on public lands can reduce the impacts of fire on squirrel populations by formulating prescriptions to retain large live trees and large downed logs. © The Wildlife Society, 2010. Abstract reproduced by permission.

Online Link(s):
Link to this document
Citation:
Russell, R. E., J. F. Lehmkuhl, S. T. Buckland, and V. A. Saab. 2010. Short-term responses of red squirrels to prescribed burning in the interior Pacific Northwest, USA. Journal of Wildlife Management 74(1):12-17.