Georgia Project
Responses of Targeted Herpetological Communities to Fire Management Practices in Pine-Oak Forests of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
July 2012 - July 2014
Personnel
- Clinton Moore, Co-Principal Investigator
- John Maerz, Co-Principal Investigator
- Kristine Johnson, Co-Principal Investigator
- Theodore Simons, Co-Principal Investigator
Participating Agencies
- USGS NRPP/POBS programs
Forest managers at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are working to reintroduce a fire regime that once characterized the southwest portion of the park. However, managers are uncertain about the effects of fire - especially detrimental effects - on populations of amphibians and reptiles. This project will investigate relationships between prescribed fire management and herptile community response in this area of the park. The investigation will rely on field sampling and predictive modeling approaches. The outcome of this study, along with a companion project on bird community associations with fire management, will help inform park managers about responses by forest fauna to the reintroduction of fire.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Fouts, K. L., C. T. Moore, K. D. Johnson, and J. C. Maerz. 2017. Lizard activity and abundance greater in burned habitat of a xeric montane forest. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 8:181-192.http://dx.doi.org/10.3996/042016-JFWM-031 | Download | June 2017 |