EFFECT OF HIGH-INTENSITY WILDFIRE AND SILVICULTURAL TREATMENTS ON REPTILE COMMUNITIES IN SAND-PINE SCRUB

We tested whether the herpetofaunal response to clearcutting followed by site preparation was similar to high-intensity wildfire followed by salvage logging in sand-pine scrub. Herpetofaunal communities were co mpared in three replicated 5- to 7-year post-disturbance treatments we re (1) high-intensity wildfire, salvage-logging, and natural regenerat ion; (2) clearcutting, roller-chopping, and broadcast-seeding; and (3) clearcutting and bracke-seeding. Animals were trapped over a 14-month period using pitfall traps with drift fences. Microhabitat features w ere measured along line transects. Because amphibian (frog) occurrence appeared to be unaffected by treatment, this paper focuses only on re ptile communities. Six species of lizards and one snake species were n umerically dominant. Reptile species richness, diversity, and evenness did not differ among treatments or mature forest. Species composition differed markedly, however, between mature forest and disturbance tre atments. Typical open scrub species such as Cnemidophorus sexlineatus, Sceloporus woodi, and Eumeces egregius, were dominant in high-intensi ty burn, roller-chopped, and bracke-seeded stands but scarce in mature forest, and they were positively correlated with bare sand and other micro-habitat features typical of open scrub. Conversely, Eumeces inex pectatus was most abundant in mature forest and was correlated with gr ound litter and other features typical of mature forest. With respect to the species sampled, especially the lizards (including endemic spec ies) of open scrub, clearcutting appeared to mimic high-intensity wild fire followed by salvage-logging by creating microhabitat features suc h as bare sand. In a mirror image of the usual concept, forest maturat ion historically served as the fragmenting agent of an extensive open- scrub landscape matrix that was maintained by high-intensity wildfire. Hence, the patchwork of age classes created by current clearcutting p atterns could serve as a barrier to lizard dispersal and impede metapo pulation dynamics. The absence of a true control (unsalvaged burns) su ggests caution in interpreting the results of this study.