EFFECTS OF TIMBER HARVESTING ON SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN SALAMANDERS

we compared the species richness and abundance of salamanders on six r ecent clearcuts (< 10 years old) with that of salamanders on 34 mature forest stands (> 50 years old) in southern Appalachian forests in wes tern North Carolina, U.S.A. Catches of salamanders from plots in matur e forest stands were about five times higher than those on recent clea rcuts. Almost all species and major taxonomic groups of salamanders we re adversely affected by timber removal. Mean number of species collec ted per plot was about twice as great in mature forest stands as in cl earcuts. Analyses of stand age versus salamander catch for 4 7 plots i ndicate that 50-70 years are required for populations to return to pre disturbance levels following cutting. We conservatively estimate that clearcutting in US. national forests in western North Carolina results in a loss of nearly 14 million salamanders annually. It also is chron ically reducing regional populations by more than a quarter of a billi on salamanders (9%) below that which could be sustained if mature fore sts were not cut.