Response
of a Reptile Guild to Forest Harvesting
BRIAN D.
TODD and KIMBERLY M. ANDREWS
Savannah
River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC
29802, U.S.A.
Abstract:
Despite the growing concern over reptile population declines, the effects
of modern industrial silviculture on reptiles have been understudied,
particularly for diminutive and often overlooked species such as small-bodied
snakes. We created 4 replicated forest-management landscapes to determine
the response of small snakes to forest harvesting in the Coastal Plain
of the southeastern United States. We divided the replicated landscapes
into 4 treatments that represented a range of disturbed habitats: clearcut
with coarse woody debris removed; clearcut with coarse woody debris retained;
thinned pine stand; and control (unharvested secondgrowth planted pines).
Canopy cover and ground litter were significantly reduced in clearcuts,
intermediate in thinned forests, and highest in unharvested controls.
Bare soil, maximum air temperatures, and understory vegetation all increased
with increasing habitat disturbance. Concomitantly, we observed significantly
reduced relative abundance of all 6 study species (scarletsnake [Cemophora
coccinea], ring-neck snake [Diadophis punctatus], scarlet kingsnake
[Lampropeltis triangulum], red-bellied snake [Storeria occipitomaculata],
southeastern crowned snake [Tantilla coronata], and smooth earthsnake
[Virginia valeriae]) in clearcuts compared with unharvested or
thinned pine stands. In contrast, the greatest relative snake abundance
occurred in thinned forest stands. Our results demonstrate that at least
one form of forest harvesting is compatible with maintaining snake populations.
Our results also highlight the importance of open-canopy structure and
ground litter to small snakes in southeastern forests and the negative
consequences of forest clearcutting for small snakes.
Keywords:
clearcutting, forest management, forest thinning, logging, logging
effects, reptile, snake, Tantilla coronata, Virginia valeriae
SREL Reprint #3084
Todd, B.
D. and K. M. Andrews. 2008. Response of a Reptile Guild to Forest Harvesting.
Conservation Biology 22(3): 753-761.
