Effects of Prescribed Fire on Arboreal Reptiles and Amphibians in the Texas Hill Country.

 Nikki Jo A. Radke, Gad Perry, and David B. Wester

         Considerable information is available about the effects of prescribed burning on vegetation, big game, and game bird species.  However, forests support a wide diversity of animals in addition to game species.  This includes amphibians and reptiles, which are important bioindicators of environmental health.  The effects of fire on herpetiles have rarely been documented anywhere, and never in the Texas Hill Country.

            We have begun a study of the effects of prescribed burning on arboreal herpetiles in juniper-oak-mesquite communities in Mason, Parker, and Palo Pinto counties.  Included in this work is an assessment of the effectiveness of several trapping techniques.  We have installed sticky, drain tube, and funnel traps at both a 5 ft. height in randomly selected trees and on the nearby ground.  We measured vegetative ground cover, species composition, and visual obstruction on plots that will be burned and unburned control plots.

            Prescribed fires will be conducted in late winter and traps will be checked seasonally following burning.  Changes in vegetation characteristics will be monitored to show the impact of fire and to assess habitat changes for the animals.  Additionally, insects, an important food component of herpetiles, will be collected from the sticky traps to determine food availability following a fire.  The information collected in this research will enable managers to address fire effects on arboreal herpetiles, a little-studied but important group of animals whose response to fire is unknown.  The research will also add to the understanding of fire effects on Texas forests.