The following schedule is from the 72nd Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies which was held October 21-24, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama.
AUTHORS: Allison G. Colter, Karl V. Miller, Bronson P. Bullock – Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia; Darren A. Miller, Weyerhaeuser Company; Kristina L. Johannsen, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division; Kent A. Keene, William D. Gulsby – Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences; James A. Martin, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
ABSTRACT: Managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands are common across the southeastern U.S. landscape. Although the primary purpose of these stands is often to produce income for forest landowners, they also provide habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Some species, such as northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; bobwhite), depend on a diverse herbaceous plant community, a condition that generally occurs soon after planting and post-thinning and can be maintained by mid-rotation treatments such as prescribed fire, and/or herbicides. To better understand economic and potential habitat value trade-offs, we used a split-plot design in a randomized complete block context to estimate effects of forest thinning intensity (i.e., 40, 60, and 80 ft2 acre-1 residual basal area) on bobwhite habitat conditions in five managed loblolly stands in the Piedmont of Georgia. We also examined how timing of forest thinning operations that occurred throughout the 2017 growing season affected vegetation conditions. We evaluated horizontal cover, obstructive cover, and food resource availability along 10 randomly placed 20-m line transects within each plot (n = 30). Pine litter represented most (60%) of the horizontal cover with remaining cover being vegetation (36%) and bare ground (4%). Food resource availability for bobwhite was 52% ± 1% of the total resources present among all treatments. The 40 ft2 ac-1 treatment had the least obstructive cover for bobwhites because of the lack of pine stems obstructing a raptor’s field-of-view. In 2018, we applied late dormant season prescribed fire treatments and we will continue to measure treatment effects
