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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): David S. Pilliod; R. Bruce Bury; Erin J. Hyde; Christopher A. Pearl; Paul Stephen Corn
Publication Date: 2003

Information on amphibian responses to fire and fuel reduction practices is critically needed due to potential declines of species and the prevalence of new, more intensive fire management practices in North American forests. The goals of this review are to summarize the known and potential effects of fire and fuels management on amphibians and their aquatic habitats, and to identify information gaps to help direct future scientific research. Amphibians as a group are taxonomically and ecologically diverse; in turn, responses to fire and associated habitat alteration are expected to vary widely among species and among geographic regions. Available data suggest that amphibian responses to fire are spatially and temporally variable and incompletely understood. Much of the limited research has addressed short-term (1-3 years) effects of prescribed fire on terrestrial life stages of amphibians in the southeastern United States. Information on the long-term negative effects of fire on amphibians and the importance of fire for maintaining amphibian communities is sparse for the majority of taxa in North America. Given the size and severity of recent wildland fires and the national effort to reduce fuels on federal lands, future studies are needed to examine the effects of these landscape disturbances on amphibians. We encourage studies to address population-level responses of amphibians to fire by examining how different life stages are affected by changes in aquatic, riparian, and upland habitats. Research designs need to be credible and provide information that is relevant for fire managers and those responsible for assessing the potential effects of various fuel reduction alternatives on rare, sensitive, and endangered amphibian species.

Online Links
Citation: Pilliod, David S.; Bury, R.B.; Hyde, Erin J.; Pearl, Christopher A.; Corn, Paul S. 2003. Fire and amphibians in North America. Forest Ecology and Management 178(1-2):163-181.

Cataloging Information

Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    National
Keywords:
  • algae
  • amphibians
  • aquatic ecosystems
  • Ascaphus spp.
  • Batrachoseps spp.
  • bibliographies
  • Bufo americanus
  • Bufo spp.
  • Cascades Range
  • catastrophic fires
  • community ecology
  • Dicamptodon spp.
  • distribution
  • disturbance
  • duff
  • ecosystem dynamics
  • Ensatina spp.
  • fire dependent species
  • fire hazard reduction
  • fire injuries (animals)
  • fire intensity
  • fire management
  • fire management planning
  • fire regimes
  • fire retardants
  • fire suppression
  • firebreak
  • Florida
  • forest management
  • fuel accumulation
  • fuel loading
  • fuel management
  • fuel reduction
  • Gyrinophyilus spp.
  • habitat disturbance
  • habits and behavior
  • hardwoods
  • herbicide
  • Hyla andersonii
  • Idaho
  • litter
  • logging
  • microclimate
  • mortality
  • mosaic
  • National Fire Plan
  • New England
  • New Hampshire
  • Oklahoma
  • Oncorhynchus
  • Oregon
  • pine forests
  • Pinus palustris
  • ponds
  • population density
  • population ecology
  • post-fire recovery
  • Pseudacris spp.
  • Rana
  • Rana catesbeiana
  • Rana clamitans
  • Rana sphenocephala
  • reproduction
  • Rhyacotriton spp.
  • riparian habitats
  • roads
  • runoff
  • salvage
  • sedimentation
  • site treatments
  • sloping terrain
  • soils
  • streams
  • succession
  • Taricha spp.
  • thinning
  • threatened and endangered species
  • topography
  • vulnerable species or communities
  • water quality
  • wetlands
  • wilderness fire management
  • wildfires
  • wildland fire
  • wildlife habitat management
Tall Timbers Record Number: 15659Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Fire FileAbstract Status: Fair use, Okay, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 4901

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers 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 Tall Timbers.