During the summer of 2002, wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of hectares in southwest Oregon. The largest of these fires, the Biscuit Fire, was located in and around the Siskiyou National Forest. It is estimated that this fire covered nearly 200,000 ha, of which nearly 40% was classified as being of moderate or high severity. A large-scale mosaic of severely burned patches interspersed with underburned and unburned patches was created. Because of the size and severity of this fire, this site offers an excellent opportunity for investigating how bird communities respond to the juxtaposition of burned and unburned patches of forest.
 In this study we will investigate how birds are distributed in large, severely burned patches relative to remnant, unburned forest. Specifically, we are examining potential relationships between the diversity, richness, and composition of bird communities within severely burned patches and proximity to unburned forests. In addition, we are examining the distribution and abundance of individual breeding bird species that are associated with burned forest. Our initial predictions were 1) that species that are associated with burns, but rely on forest habitat for nesting or cover, will be more likely to be associated with the edge of unburned forest; and 2) that species associated with open and burned forest will show no relationship with proximity to unburned forest.
For additional information about this research study see the
CFER
Annual Report. (2.2 MB)
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