Clearcut Herpetofauna 41 



areas. Hairston (1987) found that salamanders return to their home 

 range even after disturbance and handling. Small clearcuts with undisturbed 

 sources of recolonization nearby were advocated by Buhlmann et al. 

 (1988) and Enge and Marion (1986). A mosaic of small clearcuts, 

 second growth, and undisturbed areas would likely create increased 

 landscape diversity, as compared to a single homogeneous stand. 



Recovery times of about 60 years for salamander populations in 

 clearcut areas are given by Petranka et al. (1993) in the southern 

 Appalachian and Pough et al. (1987) in New York. This suggests that 

 long rotation times are needed to avoid a long-term decline of sala- 

 mander populations over several rotations. Enge and Marion (1986) 

 also recommended long rotation times that allow adequate recovery 

 of herpetofaunal populations. 



Controlling certain aspects of the harvest operation can minimize 

 the adverse effects of a clearcut. Most importantly, snags and coarse 

 woody debris should be left on the site (Enge and Marion 1986). 

 Woody debris should be of large size and in an advanced state of 

 decay (Bury and Corn 1988, Welsh and Lind 1988). Aubry et al. 

 (1988) suggested that "the abundance levels of salamanders are more 

 likely a function of the availability of woody debris for cover than 

 age of the overstory." Since suitable woody debris is more abundant 

 in older stands, longer rotation times are important. Leaf litter on the 

 forest floor is another important component of herpetofaunal habitat 

 (Pough et al. 1987, DeGraaf and Rudis 1990, Petranka et al. 1993), 

 and can be destroyed by ground machinery such as skidders (Buhlmann 

 et al. 1988). Skidders should be restricted to small areas, and helicopters 

 should be used when practical. Buhlmann et al. (1988) recommended 

 harvesting in the season of inactivity for the local herpetofauna, but 

 some southern Coastal Plain species are active at all times of the 

 year. 



Further studies in which capture probabilities can be estimated 

 would allow direct comparison of capture data among species in the 

 same habitat, and within species across habitats. Remaining research 

 opportunities include determining the fate of salamanders in the face 

 of clearcutting, and monitoring subsequent recovery of populations 

 through recolonization. Also, a study similar to ours, focusing on 

 winter-active amphibians, would be valuable. In addition, the habitat 

 value of skidder ruts should be studied. The possible benefit of extra 

 standing water (Phelps 1993) may mitigate the effects of soil degradation 

 (Buhlmann et al. 1988). Finally, additional work with PVC pipes for 

 capturing treefrogs should be done, including their use in various 

 habitats, with different species, and the possible effect of pipe height 

 on trap efficiency. 



