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Removing Duff Layers in Fire-suppressed Wetlands can Aid Habitat Restoration Efforts

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Abstract

Amphibians breeding in ephemeral wetlands within pine-dominated (Pinus spp.) natural communities are less likely to persist in wetlands that have developed high canopy cover and low herbaceous groundcover in the absence of regular plant growing-season wildfires. The reintroduction of historic fire regimes, in conjunction with mechanical or herbicide removal of woody shrubs, can reduce the woody midstory in wetlands. However, certain conditions can hinder the reemergence of herbaceous groundcover in degraded wetlands even after the removal of the woody midstory. After four years of no discernible recovery of herbaceous vegetation at two Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) breeding wetlands, we conducted a duff-removal experiment to test whether duff accumulation was preventing herbaceous plant germination and growth. Using a paired design, we found that duff removal increased the number of sprouting stems by 30-fold compared to control plots (paired t-test: t19 = 5.30; p < 0.001) and shifted vegetation communities towards more desirable herbaceous groundcover (PERMANOVA: F1,34 = 19.14; p < 0.001). Fire is recognized as an important source of disturbance in longleaf (Pinus palustris) and slash (P. elliottii) pine forests of the southeastern United States, but the return of fire to degraded habitats may not be sufficient to fully restore historic conditions that are conducive to flatwoods salamander reproduction. Our results demonstrate that duff removal may be a critical component of wetland restoration to improve or accelerate the response of understory vegetation following canopy removal.

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Data Availability

All data and code needed to perform the analyses are available as electronic supplementary material.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Natural Resources Branch of Eglin Air Force Base (Jackson Guard), the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, the Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech for logistical and financial support. We thank S. Goodman for assistance with field work, and B. Hagedorn, J. Johnson, K. Gault, and J. Preston for their long-term support and input on all aspects of this project.

Funding

The authors received funding from government awards sponsored by Eglin Air Force Base and the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Cooperative Agreement #F14AC00068 and the Army Corps of Engineers through Cooperative operative agreement #W9132T-14-2-0008.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fish & Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    George C. Brooks, Thomas A. Gorman, Kelly C. Jones, Houston C. Chandler, Brandon K. Rincon & Carola A. Haas

  2. Aquatic Resources Division, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA

    Thomas A. Gorman

  3. The Orianne Society, Tiger, GA, 30576, USA

    Houston C. Chandler

  4. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Quincy, FL, 32351, USA

    Michael A. Sisson

  5. 128 D. Craig Road, Deville, LA, 71328, USA

    John Himes

Authors
  1. George C. Brooks
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  2. Thomas A. Gorman
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  3. Kelly C. Jones
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  8. Carola A. Haas
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Contributions

The original study design was developed by Thomas Gorman and Carola Haas. Kelly Jones, John Himes, and Michael Sisson assisted with refinement of hypotheses and management approaches. Data collection and field coordination was conducted by Kelly Jones, Thomas Gorman, and Brandon Rincon. George Brooks, Houston Chandler, and Thomas Gorman performed the analyses. All authors contributed to writing and reviewing drafts of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to George C. Brooks.

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Brooks, G.C., Gorman, T.A., Jones, K.C. et al. Removing Duff Layers in Fire-suppressed Wetlands can Aid Habitat Restoration Efforts. Wetlands 43, 95 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01739-7

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