FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Anser albifrons | Greater White-Fronted Goose 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
No specific information was found on the direct effects of fire on the
greater white-fronted goose; however, adult geese can probably easily
escape fire when not molting.  Nests and goslings are probably most
susceptible to fire.


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Fire can improve the habitat of the greater white-fronted goose.  It
often removes excessive accumulations of fast-growing hydrophytes,
permitting better waterfowl access and growth of more desirable foods
for the greater white-fronted goose [22].  Wet cover fires of coastal
marshes (marsh fires where water levels are at or above the root
horizons) 2 to 3 weeks before the greater white-fronted goose arrives
remove most vegetation and make access to roots and tubers easier [25].

Fire can have a negative impact on habitat of the greater white-fronted
goose.  If a fire occurs before nesting starts, the nesting cover may be
destroyed [25].  Large-scale autumn burning may have a detrimental
effect upon marshes by reducing the retention of drifting snow, which
adds heavily to spring run-off.  The ability of marsh vegetation to
catch and hold snow is vital to marsh survival [23].


FIRE USE : 
Burning of sedge meadows and wet marshy areas provides excellent grazing
for geese.  Fire can also be used to convert forested uplands adjacent
to aquatic habitats to grasses and sedges which would likely improve
this area for greater white-fronted goose nesting [22].  Removal of
dense vegetation and prevention of woody encroachment is vital to
prairie marsh maintenance [23].  According to Ward [23], spring burning
in marshlands is primarily done to remove vegetation and create more
nesting edge.  Summer fires are used to create more permanent changes in
the plant community.

Precribed burning during the nesting season should be avoided.  Land
managers who burn during the nesting season should consider partial
burns.  Partial burns will probably have less impact on total vegetation
changes but should result in higher recruitment of waterfowl [26].

Native American hunters in the North sometimes used fire on shores.
This drove molting greater white-fronted geese onto land where they were
killed [15].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Anser albifrons | Greater White-Fronted Goose