We are investigating the compatibility of prescribed fire management in the southern Appalachian Mountains with the conservation of the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). This 3-year landscape-scale study began in October 2009 and will fill substantial knowledge gaps on the short- and long-term effects of prescribed fire on Indiana bat roost habitat. We expect our results to be used by land managers throughout the southern portion of the Indiana bat’s range. Our partners are the Joint Fire Science Program, Cherokee National Forest, Nantahala National Forest, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Distribution of the Indiana bat (inset) and study areas on the
Cherokee National Forest, Nantahala National Forest, and
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Why should we be concerned about the Indiana bat?
The Indiana bat is a federally endangered insectivorous bat distributed throughout much of the eastern U.S. Protective measures resulted in a 15% increase in the overall Indiana bat population by 2003. However, since winter 2006-2007, over 1 million bats in the northeastern U.S. have died due to White-Nose Syndrome, a newly emerging and little understood disease. Biologists have predicted that the Indiana bat may face extinction in the northeastern U.S. Because Indiana bats are long-lived (>20 years) and have low fecundity (1 young/year), conserving healthy populations of Indiana bats in the southern part of their range may be critical to the overall survival of the species.
What do we know about Indiana bats in the southern Appalachians?
Indiana bat maternity colonies were first discovered in the southern Appalachians in 1999. In this region, primary maternity roosts are under the sloughing bark of dead yellow and white pines. The majority of roosts are on mid and upper slopes in mixed pine-hardwood stands, but some roosts have been found near streams.
How does prescribed fire relate to Indiana bats?
In the southern Appalachians, fire has become an important tool for the restoration of oak (Quercus) and yellow pine (Pinus subgenus Diploxylon) forests because these species are valuable for wildlife, timber, and biodiversity. On federal lands in this region, resource managers implement landscape-scale (500–4000 ac) dormant season burns using burn protocols designed to mimic natural lightning-set fires on ridgetops. Pine snags, which are critical habitat for Indiana bats, are abundant in the region due to a massive pine beetle outbreak in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Little is known about how prescribed fire affects existing snags and whether fire can create a sufficient number of snags to replace those that are destroyed. Protection of Indiana bats is one of the key factors in determining when and where managers can implement burns in the southern Appalachians; uncertainty about the direct and indirect effects of fire on Indiana bats can prevent or delay the effective use of fire as a restoration tool.
This study will provide managers with a better understanding of the effects of burning on snag populations, which will aid in the development of prescribed fire plans that are consistent with Indiana bat conservation and recovery. The primary goal of this study is to generate a substantial set of data to inform management decisions and policy guidelines for balancing the needs of Indiana bats with the needs of the fire-adapted ecosystem in which they exist.
Examples of Indiana bat roost trees in the southern Appalachians
Research Objectives and Methods
(see full proposal for more details)
Objective 1. Measure effects of prescribed fire on snag population dynamics at multiple landscape positions
We located mature stands with a conifer component, searched stands for dense snag patches, and measured ≥40 snags and all live trees in variable size plots on lower, middle, and upper slopes. Plots in treatments were burned in 2010 or will be burned in 2011. Control plots will not be burned during this study.
Objective 2. Assess landscape-scale availability of trees suitable for use by Indiana bats.
We are measuring snag availability and characteristics along transects in suitable Indiana bat habitat in areas that differ in burn history in the past 10 years (unburned, burned once, or burned twice).
Objective 3. Test effects of fire history, and stand and landscape characteristics on Indiana bat roost tree selection
We are conducting a radio telemetry study to locate roosts during the maternity season (15 May-15 August) 2010-2011.
Research Highlights
- We marked 1063 snags (mostly pines) in Fall/Winter 2009-2010.
- Pine snags are abundant(87% of marked snags), but most are too decayed for roosting.
- Temperature data were collected at 31 random snags in 3 burns in Spring 2010. Max temperatures averaged 227 °C.
- Snag fates varied with burn intensity and landscape position. Snags were mainly lost on upper slopes.
- Twenty nine Indiana bat roost trees were located in Summer 2010.
- White pines were a significant roost type in Summer 2010. One Indiana bat maternity tree held 84 bats in June.
To leatrn more about this project, Contact Susan Loeb or Joy O’Keefe.