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Wiley InterScience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Conservation BiologyVolume 21 Issue 1, Pages 159 - 167 Published Online: 3 Nov 2006 ©2010, Society for Conservation Biology Published on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 199K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  Salamander Abundance along Road Edges and within Abandoned Logging Roads in Appalachian Forests Copyright 2007 Society for Conservation Biology KEYWORDS amphibian • edge effects • land use • logging •
Plethodon
• road-effect zone KEYWORDS anfibios • corte de árboles • efectos de borde •
Plethodon
• uso de suelos • zona de efecto de camino ABSTRACTAbstract: Roads may be one of the most common disturbances in otherwise continuous forested habitat in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Despite their obvious presence on the landscape, there is limited data on the ecological effects along a road edge or the size of the "road-effect zone." We sampled salamanders at current and abandoned road sites within the Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina (U.S.A.) to determine the road-effect zone for an assemblage of woodland salamanders. Salamander abundance near the road was reduced significantly, and salamanders along the edges were predominantly large individuals. These results indicate that the road-effect zone for these salamanders extended 35 m on either side of the relatively narrow, low-use forest roads along which we sampled. Furthermore, salamander abundance was significantly lower on old, abandoned logging roads compared with the adjacent upslope sites. These results indicate that forest roads and abandoned logging roads have negative effects on forest-dependent species such as plethodontid salamanders. Our results may apply to other protected forests in the southern Appalachians and may exemplify a problem created by current and past land use activities in all forested regions, especially those related to road building for natural-resource extraction. Our results show that the effect of roads reached well beyond their boundary and that abandonment or the decommissioning of roads did not reverse detrimental ecological effects; rather, our results indicate that management decisions have significant repercussions for generations to come. Furthermore, the quantity of suitable forested habitat in the protected areas we studied was significantly reduced: between 28.6% and 36.9% of the area was affected by roads. Management and policy decisions must use current and historical data on land use to understand cumulative impacts on forest-dependent species and to fully protect biodiversity on national lands ABSTRACTResumen: Los caminos pueden ser una de las perturbaciones más comunes en bosques otrora continuos en los Montes Apalaches. No obstante su obvia presencia en el paisaje, hay datos limitados sobre los efectos ecológicos a lo largo de un borde de camino o del tamaño de la "zona de efecto del camino." Muestreamos salamandras sitios en caminos vigentes y abandonados en el Parque Nacional Nántala, Carolina del Norte (E.U.A.) para determinar la zona de efecto del camino para un ensamble de salamandras de bosque. La abundancia de salamandras cerca del camino disminuyó significativamente, y las salamandras a lo largo de los bordes eran individuos grandes predominantemente. Estos resultados indican que la zona de efecto de camino para estas salamandras se extiende 35 m a ambos lados de los caminos relativamente angostos, poco utilizados que muestreamos. Más aun, la abundancia de salamandras fue significativamente menor en caminos viejos, abandonados, en comparación con sitios en laderas contiguas. Estos resultados indican que los caminos en los bosques y los caminos madereros abandonados tienen efectos negativos sobre especies dependientes de bosques como las salamandras pletodóntidas. Nuestros resultados se pueden aplicar a otros bosques protegidos en los Apalaches y pueden ejemplificar un problema causado por formas de uso de suelo actuales y pasadas en todas las regiones boscosas, especialmente las relacionadas con la construcción de caminos para la extracción de recursos naturales. Nuestros resultados muestran que el efecto de los caminos rebasó el límite de los mismos y que el abandono de caminos no revirtió los efectos ecológicos perjudiciales; más bien, nuestros resultados indican que las decisiones de gestión tienen repercusiones significativas para las generaciones futuras. Más aun, la cantidad de hábitat boscoso adecuado se redujo significativamente en las áreas protegidas que estudiamos: entre 28.6% y 36.9% de la superficie fue afectada por caminos. Las decisiones políticas y de gestión deben recurrir a datos actuales e históricos sobre el uso de suelo para entender los impactos acumulativos sobre especies dependientes de bosques y para proteger integralmente a la biodiversidad en terrenos nacionales. Paper submitted December 20, 2005; revised manuscript accepted June 19, 2006. | 
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Free Article from Conservation Biology |  |
The article One Hundred Questions of Importance to the Conservation of Global Biological Diversity is now available FREE online. | |
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Conservation Letters |
Conservation Letters is a new, online-only scientific journal publishing empirical and theoretical research with significant implications for the conservation of biological diversity. |
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Conservation |
Conservation is a sophisticated, readable, and utterly practical magazine for people who are serious about conservation. |
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 | New Perspectives on Psychology and Human–Animal Interactions |
This issue of Journal of Social Issues focuses on human attitudes toward the use of other species, the effects of relationships with companion animals on human health and well-being, and the ethical and policy implications of our interactions with other species. | |
