"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.

Historical and prescribed fire regimes for different regions in the continental U.S. were compared and literature on season of prescribed burning synthesized. In regions and vegetation types where considerable differences in fuel consumption exist among burning seasons, the effects of prescribed fire season appears to be driven more by fire-intensity differences among seasons than by phenology or growth stage of organisms at the time of fire. Where fuel consumption differs little among burning seasons, the effect of phenology or growth stage of organisms is often more apparent, because it is not overwhelmed by fire-intensity differences. Species in ecosystems that evolved with fire appear to be resilient to one or few out-of-season prescribed burns. Illus.

"The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes (e.g., water quality improvement), affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna"--Abstract.

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation provides a thorough summary of the available scientific evidence of what is known, or not known, about the effectiveness of all of the conservation actions for wild terrestrial mammals across the world (excluding bats and primates, which are covered in separate synopses). Actions are organized into categories based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifications of direct threats and conservation actions. Over the course of fifteen chapters, the authors consider interventions as wide ranging as creating uncultivated margins around fields, prescribed burning, setting hunting quotas and removing non-native mammals. This book is written in an accessible style and is designed to be an invaluable resource for anyone concerned with the practical conservation of terrestrial mammals. The authors consulted an international group of terrestrial mammal experts and conservationists to produce this synopsis. Funding was provided by the MAVA Foundation, Arcadia and National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. Terrestrial Mammal Conservation is the seventeenth publication in the Conservation Evidence Series, linked to the online resource www.ConservationEvidence.com. Conservation Evidence Synopses are designed to promote a more evidence-based approach to biodiversity conservation. Others in the series include Bat Conservation, Primate Conservation, Bird Conservation and Forest Conservation and more are in preparation. Expert assessment of the evidence summarised within synopses is provided online and within the annual publication What Works in Conservation.