AVIAN RESPONSE TO WILDFIRE IN INTERIOR COLUMBIA BASIN SHRUBSTEPPE

作者：Earnst Susan L^*; Newsome Heidi L; LaFramboise William L; LaFramboise Nancy

来源：The Condor, 2009, 111(2): 370-376.

DOI：10.1525/cond.2009.080109

• Amphispiza belli
• cheatgrass
• fire
• Pooecetes gramineus
• Sage Sparrow
• sagebrush
• shrubsteppe birds
• Vesper Sparrow

Wildfire and conversion of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) shrublands to cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) grasslands is a serious threat to the shrubsteppe ecosystem, but few studies have documented wildfire's effects on birds with multiple years of pre- and post-fire data. Using data from avian point counts recorded 4 years before and 7 years after a large-scale, severe wildfire in the Columbia Basin of south-central Washington, we found significant effects of fire on population trends or mean abundance of nearly all species investigated. The Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli), a sagebrush obligate, was decreasing at a high rate both pre- and post-fire. Among species inhabiting more open shrubsteppe or grasslands, the mean abundance of three (Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum; Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta; Vesper Sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus) was lower post-fire and one (Lark Sparrow, Chondestes grammacus) showed an initial, but short-lived, increase post-fire before dropping below pre-fire levels. Only one (Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris) increased steadily post-fire and had higher post-fire mean abundance.

• 出版日期2009-5