Surveys and Investigations Projects as Required by Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Missouri. Study No. 35: Evaluation of Silvicultural Management in Missouri Oak-Hickory Forests. Job No. 2: Immediate Effects of Even-and Uneven-Aged Forest Manage

摘要

As part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), we experimentally evaluated the impacts of forest management on amphibian and reptile relative abundance in Missouri's Ozark forests (U.S.A.). Using large study sites (i.e., average size of 400 ha) as the experimental unit, we tested the effects of uneven-aged and even-aged forest management treatments compared with no-harvest management (i.e. control) on relative abundance of 13 focal amphibian and reptile species. Within even-aged management sites, we also focused on the local-scale effects of clear cutting on these species by comparing relative abundance among plots located within clear-cut stands, 50 m away from clear-cut stands, and 200 m away from clear-cut stands. Pretreatment sampling of species abundance occurred from 1992 through 1995, and post treatment sampling occurred from 1997 through 2000. At the landscape scale, treatment significantly affected Bufo americanus abundance. This species declined less on even-aged management sites than control sites, but the general decline on all sites suggests that other factors may have contributed to this result.