| |
Fires swept over 80 percent of Okefenokee Swamp from July through June one year, severely burning 140,000 acres of upland pine stands. There was no change in the resident sandhill crane population, but there was a significant increase in the winter population on the burned areas. The fire seemed to cause an increase in paintroot (Gyrotheca tinctoria), a valuable crane food.
Fires in peat bogs can sterilize the soil if allowed to burn too hot. Cooler fires can create open water in areas where marsh vegetation becomes too thick. Fires can also prevent encroaching woody vegetation, therefore maintaining sedge meadows [10]. Fires can increase worm activity by increasing soil temperatures. Worms are an important food for juvenile sandhill cranes [12].
FIRE USE:
Marsh vegetation should be burned periodically to stimulate the growth of food plants by reducing litter and competition from undesirable species. Fire can convert upland forests adjacent to marshes to grass and sedge meadows [10].
REFERENCES:
1. Wood, Don A., compiler. 1994. Official lists of endangered & potentially endangered fauna and flora in Florida. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. 22 p. [24196]
2. Bennett, Alan J.; Bennett, Laurel A. 1990. Productivity of Florida sandhill cranes in the Okeefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Journal of Field Ornithology. 61(2): 224-231. [18830]
3. Johnsgard, Paul A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers, and snipes of the world. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska. 493 p. [16617]
4. Tacha, Thomas C.; Haley, Donald E.; Vohs, Paul A. 1989. Age of sexual maturity of sandhill cranes from mid-continental North America. Journal of Wildland Management. 53: 43-46. [18833]
5. Terres, John K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1109 p. [16195]
6. Melvin, Scott M.; Stephen, W. J. Douglas; Temple, Stanley A. 1990. Population estimates, nesting biology, and habitat preferences of Interlake, Manitoba sandhill cranes, Grus canadensis. Canadian Field-Naturalist. 104(3): 354-361. [18829]
7. Iverson, George C.; Vohs, Paul A.; Tacha, Thomas C. 1987. Habitat use by mid-continent sandhill cranes during spring migration. Journal of Wildland Management. 51: 448-458. [18834]
8. Nesbitt, Stephen A.; Williams, Kathleen S. 1990. Home range and habitat use of Florida sandhill cranes. Journal of Wildland Management. 54: 92-96. [18832]
9. Windingstad, Ronald M. 1988. Nonhunting mortality in sandhill cranes. Journal of Wildland Management. 52: 260-263. [18835]
|
|
