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Interacting and non‐linear avian responses to mixed‐severity wildfire and time since fire

P. Taillie,Ryan D. Burnett,L. J. Roberts,B. R. Campos,M. N. Peterson,C. Moorman

Published 2018 in Ecosphere

ABSTRACT

. Non-linear and interacting effects of fi re severity and time since fi re may help explain how pyrodiversity promotes biodiversity in fi re-adapted systems. We built on previous research on avian responses to fi re by investigating how complex effects of burn severity and time since fi re in fl uenced avian community composition across the northern Sierra Nevada, California. We conducted avian point counts from 2009 to 2015 in 10 fi res that burned between 2000 and 2014, resulting in a chronosequence of 1 – 15 yr post- fi re. We estimated the effects of burn severity, time since fi re, non-linear and interacting effects of fi re severity and time since fi re, pre- fi re forest conditions, and several physiographic parameters on the density of 44 breeding bird species using hierarchical distance sampling models. In addition, we fi t separate models to observations of each species in unburned forest to compare species ’ densities between burned and unburned forests. At least one of the non-linear or interaction fi re effects was signi fi cant for 27 (61%) of the 44 bird species. The quadratic effect of time since fi re was an important predictor of post- fi re densities of 20 species, illustrating the dynamic nature of this post-wild fi re avian community. Greater maximum densities were estimated at some combination of burn severity and time since fi re than in unburned forest for 13 of the 44 (30%) species, only one of which reached maximum density following low-severity fi re. In con-trast, all of the 12 species that were more abundant in unburned forest reached maximum post- fi re densities in fi res that burned at low severity. Results from the study suggest that consideration of the non-linear and interacting effects of fi re severity and time since fi re is important to fully understanding post-wild fi re responses for a majority of birds. Moreover, the study supports a growing body of literature that indicates mixed-severity fi re is essential for conserving avian diversity in many fi re-maintained systems.

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