"Prescribed fire is an important management practice used to restore natural fire regimes in Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forests where fire has been suppressed over the last century. It is not well known, however, how the timing of prescribed fire affects wildlife species. I compared the effects of prescribed fires during the early season (spring and early summer) with those during the late season (late summer and fall) on small mammal populations using model selection and inference methods. ... Lodgepole chipmunk (Neotamias speciosus) movements differed between years, but there was no effect of prescribed fires on their movements (Chapter 1). Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) movements differed between age groups within years. Prescribed fire treatments did not affect deer mouse movements, except when only adult female deer mouse movements were analyzed. Year effects were more important than fire effects on lodgepole chipmunk densities, total small mammal biomass, deer mouse densities, and deer mouse age ratios (Chapter 2). Prescribed burning had a positive effect on deer mouse pregnancy ratios, and there was only limited support for an effect of year on these ratios. There was essentially no support for different effects of fire depending on the season of fire on total small mammal biomass and deer mouse densities, and only limited support for these effects on lodgepole chipmunk densities, deer mouse age ratios, and deer mouse pregnancy ratios. The prescribed fire treatments differentially impacted small mammal habitat components depending on the season of the fire (Chapter 3). However, there were few significant relationships between these habitat components and deer mouse densities, lodgepole chipmunk densities or small mammal species richness. Overall, year effects often had the greatest influence on the small mammal populations examined, and there were few strong differences between the effects of early season fires and late season fires on these populations."--Abstract.

Pine Barrens: Ecosystem and Landscape focuses on the relationship between the ecological and landscape aspects of Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The idea in this book is based from the discussions of Rutgers University botanists and ecologists at the 1975 American Institute of Biological Science meetings, and from the interest generated by the 1976 annual New Jersey Academy of Science meeting, which focuses on the Pine Barrens. This seven-part book starts with a short discussion on location and boundaries of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Part I covers human activities, from Indian activities and initial European perceptions of the land, including settlement, lumbering, fuel wood and charcoal, iron and glassworks, farming and livestock, and real estate development. The next part of the book describes sandy deposits, geographic distribution of geologic formations, and soil types with their ecologically important characteristics. Topics on hydrology, aquatic ecosystems, and climatic and microclimatic conditions are presented in the third part of this reference. Part IV traces the history of vegetation starting before the Ice Age and analyzes vegetation using different approaches, such as community types, community classification according to a European method, and gradient analysis. Plants of the Pine Barrens are briefly described and listed in Part V. The final part illustrates community relationships of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, and soil microcommunities. The book is ideal for ecologists, botanists, geologists, soil scientists, zoologists, hydrologists, limnologists, engineers, and scientists, as well as planners, decision-makers, and managers who may largely determine the future of a region.