EFFECTS OF PRESCRIBED BURNING FREQUENCY ON AVIAN COMMUNITIES IN LONGLEAF PINE FORESTS IN WESTERN LOUISIANA

We examined the effects of four prescribed burning regimes (annual, 2- to 3-y, 4- to 7-y, and unburned) on avian communities in western Louisiana longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stands for two spring (May and June) and two winter (January and February) seasons. Avian species richness and abundance were evaluated by season. During spring, red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), Bachman's sparrows (Aimophila aestivalis), and pine warblers (Dendroica pinus) showed increasing abundance with increasing frequency of fire. Four resident and six Neotropical migrant species increased with decreased frequency of fire (P <= 0.05). During winter, numbers of red-cockaded woodpeckers, pine warblers, and brown-headed nuthatches (Sitta pusilla) increased with increased regularity of fires; no temperate-zone migrant species displayed such an increase. Six resident and six temperate-zone migrant species increased with decreasing frequency of fire (P <= 0.05). Although avian species richness and abundance increased with decreasing frequency of fire, species that increased in abundance or were not present in frequently burned stands are not currently in jeopardy. The longleaf pine-grassland forest type occupies <5% of its original area; therefore, this type must be maintained and its extent expanded because it is critical to some avian species that are declining in numbers.